Tel Aviv municipality announced on Sunday morning that all beaches and cultural institutions would be closed, while 240 public shelters were opened throughout the city. The IDF home front command lifted crowd restrictions from Tel Aviv and northward at 1pm local time.
Hezbollah leader killed by Israel
Israel has been on high alert for an attack from Hezbollah since it killed Fuad Shukr, one of the group’s top commanders, in an air strike on Beirut last month.
Israel is also accused of assassinating Ishmail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader, in Tehran the following day.
Iran, a key backer of both Hezbollah and Hamas, vowed to retaliate but has also tried to signal that it does not seek a full-scale war.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, was expected to give a speech following the attacks on Sunday afternoon.
Israeli government ministers were meanwhile instructed not to speak to the media.
Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the IDF, warned civilians in southern Lebanon: “We have identified that Hezbollah is firing extensively into Israeli territory near your homes – you are in danger. We are targeting and removing Hezbollah’s threats.”
Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, spoke with his Lloyd Austin, his US counterpart, overnight, saying Israel is “closely following developments in Beirut, and we are determined to use all the means at our disposal in order to defend our citizens”.
White House ‘continuously communicating’ with Israel
A White House national security spokesman said Joe Biden has directed American officials to “continuously” communicate with Israel and added that the US will “keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself”.
“President Biden is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon. He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening,” Sean Savett, the National Security Council spokesman, said.
The air strikes and rocket attacks do not seem to have affected talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
An Israeli delegation, led by David Barnea and Ronen Bar, the country’s intelligence chiefs, arrived in Cairo on Sunday to resume indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hamas as planned.
Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy leader, is expected to lead the Palestinian delegation in Cairo, although they will not participate directly in this round of talks.