An explosive drone fired by Hezbollah during the so-called ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon scored a direct hit next to a school in the yishuv of Shomera on Thursday morning, the first time an explosive drone reached the Western Galil.

Drone infiltration alerts sounded in 15 yishuvim along the northern border at about 8:20 a.m. Shortly afterward, a powerful explosion was heard as a fiber-optic-controlled explosive drone struck Shomera. An armored vehicle caught fire, with heavy smoke seen rising from the scene. Fire and rescue teams were dispatched and managed to contain and extinguish the blaze.

According to Channel 12, the impact occurred near a school during class hours. Following the impact, the police closed roads in the Western Galil over concerns of secondary explosions.

i24News reported that this marks the first time this type of explosive drone has hit the Western Galil, and only the second time it has been observed during the war with Lebanon.

Shimon Guetta, head of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council in northern Israel, told Ynet that it was “a difficult morning.”

“I was in another community and rushed toward the school to check on the children,” he said. “I saw them shaking.”

Guetta added that four days earlier, a strike landed about 300 meters from a school in the council. “It cannot continue like this. There aren’t even 50% of students in school,” he said. “This is not a ceasefire — it’s fire without a pause.”

Chaim Steinberg, a resident of Shomera, told Kan News: “Unfortunately, we’ve gotten used to ‘non-stop fire.’ This isn’t living, it’s insane. The morning started normally. I was sitting with a cup of coffee on the porch, and then an alarm sounded. We immediately heard a loud boom.”

Earlier on Thursday, the IDF intercepted an explosive drone fired by Hezbollah at IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon. Footage from the scene showed the interceptor in the sky alongside a bus transporting students to school.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)