Tensions have been at a peak on the northern front since early June, raising the possibility that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel could escalate into war.
The Israeli military said senior commanders who assessed the situation on Tuesday night had approved military operations in Lebanon and that military units were ready for the mission.
Minutes before the military statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said: “We are close to a decision to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In the event of all-out war, Hezbollah would be destroyed and Lebanon would be severely affected.”
The action in Tel Aviv follows the release of a nine-minute, 31-second video by Hezbollah, Iran’s most important ally in the Middle East, which was recorded by a drone and clearly showed key military installations and energy infrastructure in Israel’s third-largest city, Haifa.
Israel and Hezbollah entered the conflict the day after the war in Gaza began on October 7, and the conflict has continued for 256 days.
Meanwhile, the United States is trying to prevent a new war from breaking out on the northern front. Washington, which sent an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to stop Hezbollah from opening up a front from the north in the early days of the Gaza war, is this time acting as a mediator between the Lebanese group and Israel.
Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, visited Tel Aviv and Beirut in succession and said the fighting on the northern front would end if Hamas agreed to a ceasefire.
Sirens, explosions
Air raid sirens continued to sound this morning in northern Israel. At midnight, Israeli warplanes struck several targets in the Lebanese cities of Sur and Balashit. A high-rise building in Balashit was seen completely destroyed.
Lebanese media said Israeli warplanes had struck the town of Bulgarie in the northern city of Sur in the morning. Videos posted on social media showed explosions heard at the scene of the attack and plumes of grey and black smoke.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hamda Salhat said the video recording released by Hezbollah will raise doubts about Israel’s air defense systems. Recalling that the 571-second video includes not only military bases but also air defense systems such as the Iron Dome, the Al Jazeera reporter stressed that a Hezbollah surveillance drone was flying over Haifa, 30 kilometers from the border.
According to Salhat, both Israel and Hezbollah have said that in the current situation they are prepared for all-out war.
