18 Israelis wounded in first Hezbollah attack on central Israel, as terrorists falsely claim to have hit IDF satellite station

At least 18 Israelis suffered mostly minor wounds as the terror group Hezbollah launched on Monday its deepest attack to date during this war, firing missiles at central Israel.

Israeli authorities later said that two impacts caused damage to a daycare center in Ramle, as well as “infrastructure” in the Beit Shemesh area, while the IDF said that air defenses had failed to shoot down the two missiles.

The terrorists claimed to have targeted an IDF Home Front Command base in Ramle and a “satellite communications station” in HaEla Valley, the site of the Biblical confrontation between David and Goliath, near Beit Shemesh, which they said was a military facility.

However, the site is a civilian-commercial site operated by the European company SES. Hezbollah later published video footage showing damaged satellite dishes at the site.

Unlike the missiles launched from Iran, which take several minutes to reach Israel and enable the IDF to issue an advanced warning prior to triggering the sirens, the missile strikes from Lebanon came without warning.

+++ NEWS UPDATE ISRAEL +++

- Hisbollah schießt dauerhaft auf die Zivilisten im Norden Israels - eben haben sie das Zentrum beschossen (also keine Vorwarnung und somit maximal 90 Sekunden, um Schutz zu finden); zwei Verletzte, ein Kindergarten wurde getroffen (der zum Glück leer… pic.twitter.com/UsddbCUfut

— Sarah Cohen-Fantl (@SarahFantl) March 9, 2026

The IDF said it had detected several launches from Lebanon, with some being shot down by air defenses, while others fell in open areas. “In addition, a report was received about an impact in central Israel,” the IDF added, noting that the circumstances are under investigation.

Sirens were activated in the greater Tel Aviv area and the Shfela region, but not in the relevant areas of Ramle and near Beit Shemesh.

After an investigation, the IDF said on Tuesday that an “isolated failure” caused the two missiles not to be intercepted and also prevented warning sirens from being activated.

According to the military, other missiles in the barrage were successfully shot down, but interception attempts failed for two of the missiles.

The IDF noted that “this is not a new threat” and that air defenses had succeeded in intercepting “similar threats in the past.”

“Following the investigation, adjustments were implemented to strengthen interception capabilities against similar threats in the northern arena,” the military stated.

In Ramle, 14 people were wounded, mostly by shrapnel. Footage showed significant damage to a daycare center.

“Suddenly we heard explosions, without any prior warning,” Lidor Hellen from Ramle told Ynet News.

“My family said they only entered the safe room after hearing the explosions. From the road at the entrance to the neighborhood, we saw black smoke rising high. It was really frightening. Fortunately, once things became clear we understood there was only property damage and light injuries. We were very lucky.”

The first long-range attack by Hezbollah came after reports in Israeli media outlets that security officials expect the terror group to intensify attacks to draw Israel’s attention away from the war against its Iranian backers.

תוך דקות ספורות: חיל-האוויר תקף את המשגר ממנו נורו הרקטות לעבר שטח הארץ לפני זמן קצר pic.twitter.com/7MSjRgG7Ts

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 9, 2026

Shortly after the strike, the IDF said it had “within minutes” destroyed the launchers used in the attack against Israel.

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, had revealed earlier on Monday that Israeli strikes had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s Nasser Unit, responsible for its operations in the eastern part of southern Lebanon.

Katz reiterated that Israel would not evacuate the residents of the border areas again, which was among the main reasons for ordering the IDF to advance into Lebanese territory.

“The decision to move forward immediately and defend the communities is morally and operationally correct. It allows us to continue and gives the communities confidence that what happened will not happen again,” Katz said.

🎥 WATCH: Troops located and dismantled a Hezbollah rocket launcher used to fire toward Israel during operations in the area of southern Lebanon.

During the activity, a Hezbollah terrorist involved in launching attacks toward Israel was eliminated. pic.twitter.com/SuEUzQBVvJ

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 9, 2026

“There will be no evacuation and no abandonment—everyone remains on their land, in their home, wherever they are. The number one mission is to defend the communities and give them security against raids and anti-tank fire.”

“From this point, we must not only avoid retreating in the face of Hezbollah, but use the opportunity to strike it. We are striking it and will continue to strike it. Prepare the operational plans in order to hit it, exact a price, and neutralize its capabilities. The fact that one million Lebanese have evacuated their homes in southern Lebanon and in Dahiyeh demonstrates the strength and deterrence capability of the IDF.”