Major drone strike in Israel injures over 40

Israeli rescue services said almost 40 persons were wounded on Sunday in a drone strike in the central city of Binyamina, three of them critically. The Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group claimed responsibility for one of the most serious strikes to land in Israel in a year of war.

Israel's advanced air-defence systems mean that it's rare for so many people to be hurt by drones or missiles. Israeli media reported that two drones were launched from Lebanon, and the military said one was intercepted. It was not immediately clear who was hurt, military members or civilians, or what was hit.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it targeted an Israeli military training camp in retaliation for two Israeli strikes in Beirut on Thursday that killed 22 persons.

It was the second time in two days that a drone has struck in Israel. On Saturday, during the Israeli holiday of Yom Kippur, a drone struck in a suburb of Tel Aviv, causing damage but no injuries.

The latest strike came on the same day that the United States announced it would send a new air-defence system to Israel to help bolster its protection against missiles.

Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — both Iran-backed militant groups — and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when. Iran has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.