Five lightly injured in Israel after repeated missile, rocket alerts

JERUSALEM: Israel’s emergency services said five people were injured Tuesday following missiles from Iran and rockets from Lebanon, as the country braced for an “increase in fire” as an ultimatum imposed on Iran by Donald Trump was set to expire.
In the coastal town of Nahariya, less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, the Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated a woman approximately 20 years old “in mild condition with a head injury from debris thrown by the blast” following incoming rocket fire.
Paramedics also treated a 46-year-old man in the south of the country hurt by interceptor debris, as well as a 36-year-old man in the north “with a shrapnel injury to his lower limbs.”
Later in the day, MDA said it was “providing medical treatment to two casualties in mild condition, aged 30 and 50, with shrapnel injuries” in the south following a missile launch from Iran.
As of 11:00 p.m. (2000 GMT), the Home Front Command had registered more than 20 alerts since midnight, warning of projectiles fired from Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The Israeli military also issued eight warnings of ballistic missile fire from Iran.
Israeli military correspondents have reported that, on average, there have been around one or two missiles per alert in recent days.
The Middle East was plunged into a spiralling war after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, sparking retaliatory attacks across the region.
The Israeli military warned on Tuesday evening that inbound launches may be about to increase as the midnight GMT deadline loomed for US President Trump’s ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face heavy attacks.
“Following a situational assessment, and as part of preparations for the possible expiration of the ultimatum, there may be an increase in fire toward the territory of the State of Israel in the coming hours,” the army said in a statement.