Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday that Israel was prepared with an “extremely powerful” response to attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which have escalated significantly in recent days.

“Anyone who thinks that they can harm us and we will sit on our hands is sorely mistaken,” Netanyahu during a visit to the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, which has been largely evacuated since the Lebanon-based terror group began attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis on October 8.

His comments came after Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday that Israel was close to making a decision on how to address Hezbollah’s daily attacks, which the terror group says are to support Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the wake of the terror group’s shock October 7 onslaught.

The prime minister visited the area hours after after firefighters confirmed that they had gained control of a series of major blazes in northern Israel sparked by Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks, following some 48 hours of intense firefighting efforts.

“The ground burned yesterday and I am happy you put it out,” Netanyahu told firefighters, “but the ground also burned in Lebanon.”

During the visit, he also met with troops from the IDF’s 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade to discuss operations against Hezbollah.

The large blazes prompted a spike in calls for military action by some northern residents and members of the coalition and increased concerns that Israel may soon find itself engaged in ground operations on two fronts.

Around 60,000 residents of towns and villages along Israel’s northern border have been displaced from their homes since October due to to the near-daily cross-border rocket and anti-tank missile attacks by Hezbollah and other terrorists in southern Lebanon.

Earlier on Wednesday, the government raised the number of reservists the IDF is authorized to call up if needed from 300,000 to 350,000, though military sources told The Times of Israel that the move was related to expanded operations in the Gaza Strip, rather than the northern front.

The IDF said that the cap was increased due to ongoing operations in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, which has taken more additional personnel than initially planned.

Amid the war in Gaza, the IDF called up a total of 287,000 reservists, although many of them have already been released from duty for now. It marked the largest-ever call-up of reservists in Israel’s history.

The cap was initially set at 300,000, before being raised to 360,000 in the early weeks of the war. It was then dropped back to 300,000, and has now been expanded to 350,000.

Meanwhile, the IDF said that a “suspicious aerial target” that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, thought to be a drone, was intercepted by air defenses over Metula on Wednesday morning, while an interceptor was launched at a second target a short while later.

There were no reports of damage or injuries in either incident.

In addition, the IDF said that two Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Zibqin and Ayta ash-Shab were struck by fighter jets, along with three buildings used by the terror group in Odaisseh, Blida, and Markaba.

Also on Wednesday morning, the IDF announced that drone alert sirens that sounded in Kiryat Shmona and a number of Upper Galilee communities near the Lebanon border were false alarms.

The IDF chief told military officials and Fire Commissioner Eyal Caspi on Tuesday that Israel was approaching the point where a decision will have to be made, and the IDF was prepared for it.

“We have been attacking for eight months, and Hezbollah is paying a very, very high price. It has increased its strengths in recent days and we are prepared after a very good process of training… to move to an attack in the north,” he said at an IDF base in Kiryat Shmona.

“[We have] strong defense, readiness to attack, [and] we are approaching a decision point,” he added.

On Tuesday night, the war cabinet met to discuss the latest developments along the border with Lebanon amid criticism of the government for failing to bring security to the region after months of conflict.

The skirmishes on the northern border since October 8 have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 14 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Hezbollah has named 329 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 62 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.

Israel has expressed openness to a diplomatic solution to the conflict, but has also threatened to go to war against Hezbollah to restore security to the north of Israel if needed.

Agencies contributed to this report.