According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Cabinet ministers voted to declare a “special home front situationโ throughout Israel.
The vote was done by telephone, as proposed by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the newspaper added.
Haaretz also reported that under the declaration, the army is granted powers to issue instructions to the Israeli public, allowing it to ban gatherings, limit studies, and issue “additional instructions required to save lives”.
Lebanese health authorities said at least 492 people, including children, had been killed and 1,645 others injured in Israeli attacks since Monday morning, with thousands of civilians forced to flee their homes.
The international community has warned against the raids, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.