Hezbollah claims responsibility for drone strike that injured more than 60 Israelis

TEL AVIV — Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for a drone attack that wounded more than 60 Israelis, including several in critical condition.

The assault, which took place in the central Israeli city of Binyamina, is one of the most serious mass casualty attacks the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group has caused in the country.

Hezbollah said it was targeting an Israeli military training base in the city. It wasn’t immediately clear what was hit and whether civilians or soldiers were wounded.

Israeli rescue services say they treated more than 60 people with various degrees of injuries and they were transferred to five hospitals.

Israeli media said two drones were launched and that Israel’s anti-missile system intercepted one of them. It was not clear why the other one was not intercepted.

The U.S. said earlier on Sunday that it will send an air defense system known as a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to help Israel defend itself, along with the personnel needed to operate it, following an Iranian missile attack on the country almost two weeks ago. The Pentagon gave no details on when the system would arrive.

Hezbollah and Israel have been regularly exchanging fire across Lebanon’s border for over a year, but the conflict quickly escalated starting in September.