Missile makes direct hit on air force base in North, IAF eliminates terror cell

Army radio then reported that anti-tank missiles hit the air control base but that the base's functional capacity and detection system continued to work.

 Smoke and fire rise from a fire which broke out from missiles fired from Lebanon, outside Kibbutz Shamir, northern Israel, August 15, 2024 (photo credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)
Smoke and fire rise from a fire which broke out from missiles fired from Lebanon, outside Kibbutz Shamir, northern Israel, August 15, 2024
(photo credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)

The IDF confirmed that two Hezbollah missiles hit the Israel Air Force's Air Control Unit base near Mount Meron on Friday morning, following sirens in the area.

Alarms were activated in the Upper Galilee area and Meron on Friday morning, and Lebanese media later reported a direct hit to the base, which Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for.

Army Radio reported that anti-tank missiles hit the air control base but that the base's functional capacity and detection system continued to work.

There were no casualties, and the IDF is investigating the incident.

Earlier on Friday morning, a terrorist cell based in the Tayr Harfa area in southern Lebanon was eliminated by the IAF on Friday, the IDF stated. 

The cell had reportedly been planning to fire projectiles toward Israel.

IDF strike on Hezbollah terror cell in the area of Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon. August 23, 2024. (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

IAF activity in Lebanon

A subsequent launch was identified from the area, indicating the presence of weapons and rockets, the military added.

Further, Israeli artillery reportedly struck targets in the area of Chebaa in southern Lebanon.

On Thursday, the IAF struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in southern Lebanon, after which secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facility. 

The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that an IAF strike in Beit al-Jabal resulted in two deaths. According to the report, one of the dead is a child. The IDF claimed that they were actually Hezbollah terrorists.