Flashes of fire tore through the night sky over Haifa as a volley of projectiles streaked toward northern Israel from across the Lebanese border.

Caught in the open street, an AFP team witnessed the rocket fire alongside residents, who usually rush for shelter when sirens wail across the city.

Several orange flashes ripped through the night sky without warning, immediately sending passersby scrambling for cover. Dull explosions echoed overhead, rattling windows and reverberating through the area.

While Israel’s detection systems are highly effective at identifying missiles launched from Iran, they do not always provide advance warning of rockets or drones fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon.

Only one thing was clear from the trajectory: the attack had come from the north, from Lebanon.