Air Defense system was not engaged to intercept missile that killed Noa and Nir Baranes

The Israeli Air Force, which includes air defense forces, is investigating the circumstances of the deaths of Noa and Nir Baranes during a rocket attack on the Golan Heights on July 9.

Radio station Kan Bet reported that according to a preliminary investigation, air defense forces did not attempt to intercept the rockets fired toward Highway 91 because the missile defense system marked it as an "open undeveloped area."

According to Mako, the Baranes couple was a 10-minute drive from the Ortal settlement, where they lived. The article notes that Highway 91 is central in this part of the Golan Heights, and residents of the Ortal, Ein Zivan, Sha'al, Merom Golan, and El-Rom settlements are forced to use it. On this highway, which runs near military bases targeted by Hezbollah, the Home Front Command's warning system does not operate. Thus, Noa and Nir Barnes could not have known about the rocket attack that killed them.

Noa and Nir had been living in Ortal since 2012. Nir was engaged in poultry farming, having previously worked in tourism and culture. Noa was a secretary at an agricultural company.

During the massive shelling of Israeli territory on July 9, 2024, around 19:00, one of the rockets hit the car with the Baraneses were located. They died on the spot. During the work of the rescue services, the early warning system for missile attacks was reactivated. According to the IDF, about 40 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards Israeli territory.

Hezbollah announced that the shelling of the Golan Heights was in response to an attack on a car on the Damascus-Beirut highway, which resulted in the elimination of a former bodyguard of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah stated that the targets of the attack were Israeli military facilities in the Golan.