Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government will act decisively in response to the barrage of rocket attacks that hit Israel today, Thursday.
In a speech following the security meeting of the cabinet, he added:
- We will strike our enemies and they will pay a price for their aggression.
- We call for a de-escalation of tensions and we will act resolutely once morest violent extremists.
- We have no interest in changing the status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
Several days of fighting
- Channel 14 Hebrew: The Israeli army decides to increase the deployment of the Iron Dome system near the Lebanese borders, and to enhance the deployment of ground forces, artillery and paratroopers.
- Haaretz: The Gaza Division will reinforce the deployment of Iron Dome in the south
- The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Israel is preparing for several days of fighting in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
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The shelters opened are on the northern front: Metula, Kiryat Shmona, Western Galilee, Ras Naqura, Safed, Afula, Tiberias, Migdal HaEmek, Nahariya, Acre, Karmiel, Kiryat, Kiryat Shmuel, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Haim, Kiryat Yam, and Haifa.
- Opening of the southern front shelters: Beersheba, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Yavneh, Rishon LeZion.
- Ben Gurion Airport is under a state of emergency, and flight paths may be diverted in accordance with security developments.
- The US Embassy in Jerusalem sends messages to American tourists in the Galilee, asking them to leave for safer areas.
Support from the opposition
- Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that “the Israeli opposition will give the government full support for a harsh response to the rocket fire from Lebanon.”
A diplomatic prelude to military action
- Media reports said that the Israeli Foreign Ministry had ordered its ambassadors to convey a message to host governments that Israel would respond to rocket fire from Lebanon.