Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the country's northern border with Lebanon on Wednesday and said Israel was prepared for decisive action in the north. Israeli towns near the border, many of which have been evacuated, have been a frequent target of rocket and drone launches from the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. The rockets set off massive wildfires this week, burning swathes of land across northern Israel.
"Whoever thinks that they can harm us and we will sit idly by is making a big mistake. We are prepared for a very strong action in the north. In one way or another, we will restore security to the north," Netanyahu said. Meanwhile, the government was set to approve a measure that would allow the IDF to continue the emergency call-up of up to 350,000 reserve troops originally used to support the Gaza war effort. It was unclear if this was meant as a message to Hezbollah. The current cap for IDF call-ups, approved just after the Oct. 7 massacre, stands at 300,000. Thus there were some who were speculating whether this increase and extension of duration was more than just routine.
Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire for the past eight months in parallel with the Gaza war, raising concerns that an even broader conflict could break out between the heavily armed adversaries.
The hostilities, which began in the wake of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 atrocities, have been their worst since they waged war in 2006, and tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border have been forced to flee their homes.
The rocket attacks have disrupted daily life in many Israeli towns and cities near the Lebanese border. Sirens warning of incoming rockets have become a regular occurrence, forcing residents to seek shelter in bomb shelters. Schools and businesses have been forced to close intermittently, and the psychological toll on the population has been significant.
