Two Israelis killed as Hezbollah rocket hits their car in Golan Heights

Two Israeli civilians were killed in a rocket impact in the Golan Heights on Tuesday evening, police said, amid a barrage of some 40 rockets fired by Hezbollah, hours after one of its operatives was killed in a purported Israeli strike on the Beirut-Damascus highway in Syria.

The man and woman were killed when a rocket directly struck their car, rescue services said. The pair were passing by the Nafah Junction on Route 91.

They were later named as Noa and Nir Baranes. The couple from Kibbutz Ortal, both aged 46, are survived by their three children. They were on their way home when their car was struck.

Their deaths brought the number of civilians killed in Israel amid months-long clashes with Hezbollah to 12.

Firefighters are seen at the scene of a rocket impact near the Nafah Junction in the Golan Heights, July 9, 2024. (Fire and Rescue Services)

Taking responsibility for the attack, the terror group claimed to have targeted the IDF’s Nafah base, located just south of the community of Ortal.

Noa and Nir Baranes and their children. Noa and Nir were killed when a Hezbollah rocket hit their car in the Golan Heights on July 9, 2024 (Courtesy)

Hezbollah said the attack was in response to the death of its operative Yasser Qarnabash in Syria earlier in the day. Hezbollah confirmed Qarnabash’s death following reports in Arabic media but did not detail his role or rank.