Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant declared a 48-hour state of emergency across the country starting at 6 a.m. Sunday (03:00 GMT), after the military announced it was launching strikes in Lebanon to prevent a “major attack” by Hezbollah.
Galant’s office said in a statement that the declaration of a state of emergency allows the military to “issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where are relevant.”
Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes on southern Lebanon early on Sunday in what it said was a “preemptive” attack. Hezbollah said it has completed the “first phase” of the retaliatory attack on Israel with “a large number of missiles” in response to Israel’s killing of its commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut in July according to the Quds News Network.