Following the preemptive strike in Lebanon early Sunday, the airport authority announced that no flights would depart from Israeli airports for the next few hours. Flights en route to Israel were ordered to land at Ramon airport near Eilat, and at least two landed in Cairo. The airport authority later announced that Ben-Gurion airport had resumed operations, including takeoffs and landings, at 7:00 a.m. following a situation assessment. Aircraft diverted to alternative airfields, including Ramon, stopped flying to Ben-Gurion.

At the same time, the Israeli army is conducting a joint situation assessment in the commands of the home front and the north, the air force and the defense forces. “We will keep the public informed in real time. We will deal with shelling on the home front and probably also with rocket hits. There are no unusual instructions for the reserves, in the coming hours we will give additional instructions to the public,” the Israeli army said.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had declared a “state of emergency on the home front” for 48 hours. This directive applied to certain parts of the north and south of the country, but has now been extended to all areas of the country. “There is a high probability that an attack on the civilian population will occur in the remaining areas of the country to which the government’s declaration of the state of emergency on the home front did not apply,” the minister wrote. “The declaration of a state of emergency allows the Israeli army to issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including restricting gatherings and closing places where this might be relevant.”

The Israeli armed forces have been on high alert for several weeks and are closely monitoring Hezbollah. During the night, the terrorist organization’s movements were detected near the short-range missile launch sites. In addition, intelligence information supports the conclusion that this is not another daily operation by the terrorist organization, but the beginning of Hezbollah’s and possibly Iran’s response to the massacres.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement: “The Israel Defense Forces have identified the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which is preparing to fire rockets and missiles into Israeli territory. In response to these threats, the Israel Defense Forces is attacking terror targets in Lebanon. Israeli Air Force fighter jets are currently attacking targets of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which pose an imminent threat to the citizens of the State of Israel. Hezbollah will soon fire rockets and possibly missiles and drones into Israeli territory.”

“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 in the process. We warn civilians in the areas where Hezbollah operates to immediately move out of the danger zone for their own safety. Hezbollah’s continued aggression risks drawing the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel – and the entire region – into a wider escalation. Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah’s attacks on our civilians. We are operating in self-defense against Hezbollah – and any other enemy that joins their attacks against us – and we are prepared to do whatever is necessary to defend the people of Israel,” the IDF also said.