One Israeli Killed, Eight Injured in Rocket Barrage on Safed and North

by Yaakov Ort and Bruria Efune – chabad.org

At least one Israeli was killed in the northern city of Safed this morning and eight injured in a massive missile barrage from Lebanon that reached across a wide swath of northern Israel, according to initial reports from emergency medical teams. Parts of the city were without electricity following the attacks.

Panicked residents and school children rushed to bomb shelters and safe rooms as multiple waves of sirens and explosions were heard beginning at around 10 a.m. on Wednesday in Safed, Meron, and across the Upper Galilee. The Magen David Adom emergency services said that the eight injured—three in moderate condition and one lightly injured —were taken to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.

At least one building took a direct hit, according to fire and rescue officials. “Firefighters from the Galilee-Golan regional station worked in the last hour to put out a fire in a building in the northern city of Safed as a result of a direct hit by rocket fire from Lebanon,” wrote a spokesperson. “The teams worked to extinguish the fire, search for trapped people, and cut off power sources.”

Safed, one of the four holy cities of Israel, has come under attack before from terrorist forces in Lebanon. In 2006, much of the city was evacuated and many of those who stayed behind were holed up in the city’s bomb shelters after four people were killed and hundreds injured in missile attacks.

This breaking story will be updated throughout the day.