Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared this Sunday (25.08.2024) the Military state of emergency after launching bombings in Lebanonto thwart an imminent large-scale attack by the Shiite group Hezbollah, which also announced massive rocket and drone launches.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said Gallant had activated a “special situation on the home front.”
“The declaration of a state of emergency allows the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to give instructions to the citizens of Israelincluding limiting gatherings and closing venues where it may be relevant,” Gallant said in a statement issued by his office.
“I am convinced that there is a high probability of an attack against the civilian population in areas of the country where the declaration of a special situation was not applied,” he said, referring to previous local emergency measures.
“I hereby declare a special situation on the internal front in other areas of the country. The situation is valid for 48 hours from 6:00 am“, added the Minister of Defense.
Communication with US authorities
The minister also held a call with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in which Gallant confirmed that Israel has launched “Precise strikes” against Lebanon to thwart an imminent threat against Israel.
For its part, shortly after learning of the attacks, the United States stated late on Saturday that it “will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
At the direction of President Joe Biden, “senior U.S. officials have been in continuous communication with their Israeli counterparts,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. “We will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself and work for regional stability.”
In the early hours of this Sunday, The Israeli Army identified that Hezbollah was preparing to fire missiles and rockets towards Israeli territoryand in response to these threats, the Air Force launched bombing raids on “terrorist targets in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah also said on Sunday that it had launched more than 320 rockets at Israel overnight, targeting a number of military positions.
Restrictions in northern Israel
Shortly afterwards, authorities announced restrictions across the territory north of Tel Aviv, such as limiting groups of people to 30 people outdoors and 300 indoors or banning swimming on beaches near the border.
Offices and educational institutions can continue to operate as long as they have an air raid shelter nearby.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi leads the offensive and defensive operations from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, alongside the top leaders of the armed forces.
Since the announcement, air raid sirens have been sounding in the Israeli border area with Lebanon.
The Middle East has been on edge for weeks after the group and its sponsor, Iran, promised to respond to the Beirut attack and the assassination in Tehran, hours later, of the political leader of Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah.
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