Haifa Bay Port is close to Haifa's airport and is a mere 1.8 kilometers away from the Israeli navy's main base. Haifa, in the northern part of the country, has the Jewish state's largest port.

An Israeli Police spokesperson confirmed that the Haifa terrorist came from the northern city of Shfar’am while media reports identified him as a 20-year-old Israeli Druze named Yitro Shahin.

Hezbollah rockets hit Israel's third-largest city of Haifa early on Monday, in the first direct attack on the northern city that evaded the military's usually reliable air defence systems.

The Iranian and Israeli strikes mark the most sustained, direct attacks ever between the two rivals. Three people were killed in Israel and at least 78 in Iran, officials said.