Israeli government has announced a nationwide state of emergency until September 30 amid its escalating conflict with Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah.
It was learnt that the decision was reached by the country’s cabinet on Monday night because of anticipated expansion of Hezbollah rockets firing towards Israel.
According to Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Cabinet ministers voted to declare a “special home front situation” throughout Israel.
The vote was done by telephone, as proposed by Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, the newspaper added.
Daily Haaretz said that under the declaration, the army is granted powers to issue instructions to the Israeli public, allowing it to ban gatherings, limit studies, and issue “additional instructions required to save lives.”
The declaration comes following an Israeli army assassination attempt against Ali Karaki, a top Hezbollah military commander.
Israeli Army Radio earlier quoted military sources saying that airstrikes on a southern suburb of Beirut had targeted Karaki.
Last Friday, Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets.
This was considered an act of revenge by the group against Israel for a mass bombing attack in Lebanon.
APNews reported that Israel’s military said the rockets came in three waves Friday afternoon targeting sites along the ravaged border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah said it had targeted several sites along the border with Katyusha rockets, including multiple air defence bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armoured brigade they said they’d struck for the first time.
Recall that Hezbollah had earlier vowed to take revenge after blaming Israel for detonating pagers on Tuesday that killed at least eight people and wounded 2,750 others, including many of the militant group’s fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
The country’s Information Minister Ziad Makary also condemned the destruction of the pagers – used by Hezbollah and others in Lebanon to communicate.
The minister described it as an “Israeli aggression”.
Hezbollah said Israel would receive “its fair punishment” for the blasts.