The escalation on the northern border continues: On Friday night, more than ten rockets were launched from Lebanon towards northern communities, and today (Saturday) alarms were sounded in Safed, Karmiel, Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona and other communities in the north. This is the first time in over a month and a half that alarms have been activated in Karmiel and Safed since the ceasefire was declared.
Unusual firing was recorded from Lebanon last night, when one of the rockets was launched for the first time into the Meron area and another rocket hit a commercial center in Kiryat Shmona. In the afternoon, at around 4:20 PM, alarms were activated in Safed and nearby communities. About half an hour later, alarms were also sounded in Nahariya, for the first time in three weeks, and later additional alerts were activated in Kiryat Shmona and Karmiel – for the first time in over a month.
Seconds before the alert in Safed, which was the first in the city since April 11, the IDF announced that following the intensification of force activity in southern Lebanon and in accordance with the assessment of the situation, the army was preparing for the possibility of firing from Lebanese territory towards the northern region. The IDF emphasized that at this stage there is no change in the Home Front Command’s instructions, but called on the public to be vigilant, act responsibly and obey the instructions. It was also stated that if there is a change in the instructions, the public will be updated accordingly.
After the alerts, an IDF spokesman updated that a rocket launched from Lebanon was intercepted, and another rocket fell in an open area. Later, after the alerts in and around Nahariya, several more rockets were intercepted, while others fell in open areas. The rockets launched towards Kiryat Shmona and Karmiel were also intercepted. Earlier, around 3:30 PM, alerts were activated in the Western Galilee for about ten minutes continuously due to concerns about the infiltration of UAVs.
In total, more than 25 launches from Lebanon into Israeli territory have been detected since midnight. All were intercepted or fell in open areas, with the exception of the rocket strike last night in Kiryat Shmona and the drone strike in a military zone in Shomra. No casualties were reported in either incident.
Meanwhile, fighting in southern Lebanon continues. After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that IDF forces had crossed the Litani River, a senior Lebanese military source told the Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency today that Israeli forces had also reached the villages of Zutar a-Sharqiya and Sheqif Arnon in the Beaufort area.
Sources who spoke to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen network claimed that clashes between IDF forces and Hezbollah terrorists are continuing in the same communities near the Crusader fortress. According to them, since yesterday the IDF has been conducting dozens of airstrikes and concentrated artillery fire in the area.
The Upper Galilee Regional Council informed residents that following the escalation and expansion of Hezbollah’s firing, another situation assessment is taking place with the Northern Command. This is despite the fact that the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines are currently in effect until tomorrow.
The council clarified that a decision may be made to tighten the guidelines. Regarding classes tomorrow, it was reported that schools will inform parents directly of the exact guidelines, in accordance with developments and decisions that will be made.