The Israeli Cabinet approved declaring an emergency for the entire country on Monday night amid escalating cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon, local media reported.
A “Special Situation on the Home Front,” which the Cabinet reportedly approved until Monday, Sept. 30, authorizes the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command to impose restrictions on gatherings and civilian movement throughout the Jewish state, the Kan News broadcaster said.
The declaration does not affect citizens directly, with the Home Front Command defensive guidelines remaining unchanged as of Monday night, but enables the military to decide on new restrictions quickly.
The decision, which came at the proposal of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, was taken against the threat of a large-scale Hezbollah attack targeting all areas of the country, according to the Kan News report.
Earlier on Monday night, an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh—the Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut—targeted Ali Karaki, the terror organization’s No. 3 man. It was not immediately clear if he was killed or wounded.
Karaki heads Hezbollah’s southern front, which is responsible for the Iranian-backed terrorist army’s cross-border attacks on Israel. He was said to have been chosen to succeed Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s top “military” commander, who was assassinated by Israel on Friday.
Monday night’s aerial attack marked the fourth time that Israeli Air Force jets struck the Lebanese capital since Hezbollah joined the war against the Jewish state in support of Hamas in the wake of Oct. 7.
Following Monday’s IAF strike in Beirut, air-raid sirens sounded across northern Israel, warning of renewed Hezbollah rocket and missile fire.
The Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said that a 23-year-old man was evacuated to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center in moderate condition after he was hit by shrapnel in the Upper Galilee.
Hezbollah has attacked Israel nearly daily since Oct. 8, firing thousands of rockets, missiles and drones. The attacks have killed more than 40 people and caused widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israeli civilians remain internally displaced due to the violence.
Also on Monday, a terrorist rocket from Lebanon hit just outside the Israeli community of Peduel, located just east of the security barrier in northern Samaria and less than 10 miles from Israel’s central region.
The projectile, believed to have been aimed at the Tel Aviv area, traveled at least 100 kilometers (62 miles), the Ynet news outlet said.