Politics Israel declares 48-hour state of emergency

Israel has attacked dozens of targets in Lebanon and declared a nationwide state of emergency.

It has been in force since 6 a.m. local time (5 a.m. CEST) for the next 48 hours, said Defense Minister Joav Galant.

According to its own statements, the military attacked dozens of positions of the Shiite militia in the neighboring country in view of an imminent threat from the Lebanese Hezbollah. Security circles in Lebanon confirmed the attacks. Shells were fired at Israel from Lebanon.

The Israeli military had recently determined that Hezbollah was preparing to fire rockets into Israeli territory, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced early this morning. Israeli Air Force fighter jets are currently attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon "that pose an immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel". This is an act of self-defense.

Hezbollah would soon fire missiles into Israeli territory and possibly also send drones, he warned. Hezbollah's ongoing aggression harbored the danger "that the Lebanese people, the Israeli people - and the entire region - will be drawn into a further escalation". Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah attacks on Israel's civilian population, the Israeli army spokesman warned.

Israeli rescue service declares highest level of preparedness

In view of the imminent threat situation on the border with Lebanon, according to Israeli sources, the Israeli rescue service declared the highest level of preparedness throughout the country, as reported by the "Times of Israel". According to the report, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv diverted incoming flights to other airports. No take-offs would take place in the next few hours, according to the Israeli airport authority.

The Israeli army went on to say: "Right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in southern Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing a full-scale attack on Israel, endangering the Lebanese civilian population." Civilians in the areas where Hezbollah is operating should therefore leave the danger zone immediately for their own safety.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas more than ten months ago, the Hamas-allied Hezbollah militia has been firing at targets in neighboring northern Israel from Lebanon on an almost daily basis. The Israeli military, in turn, regularly attacks targets in the neighboring country.

The USA, Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating in the Gaza war, hope that an agreement in the negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza will also prevent an escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran and thus a conflagration in the Middle East. The talks are due to continue today in Cairo.