Israel will evacuate the town of Kyriat Shmona, on its border with Lebanon, which has been under high tension since the attack launched by Hamas on October 7, the Israeli army announced on Friday.
Israeli authorities “announced the implementation of a plan to evacuate the residents” of this town of around 25,000 inhabitants “into state-funded shelters,” the army said in a statement. .
The attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement led to the death of 1,400 people on Israeli soil, the majority civilians. Since October 7, the Israeli army has been on alert on its northern border to ward off a possible offensive by the pro-Iranian Lebanese Herzbollah.
On Thursday, the Israeli army reported an anti-tank rocket launcher attack from Lebanese territory and responded by attacking “Herzbollah infrastructure”. Israeli air raids were also launched against the area of fire.
Since the start of the war triggered by the unprecedented attack by Palestinian Islamist Hamas in Israel on October 7, clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border have left around twenty dead on the Lebanese side, mostly fighters, but also a journalist from the Reuters agency and two civilians. On the Israeli side, at least three people were killed.
The international community fears that the conflict between Lebanese Hezbollah, supported by Iran, and the Israeli army will spill over.
“We are on alert and vigilance in the north, if Hezbollah makes a serious mistake, we will respond with great force,” Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari warned on Tuesday.