By Ahmed Asmar
ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli government on Monday evening announced a nationwide state of emergency until Sept. 30 amid its escalating strikes on Lebanon and anticipated expansion of Hezbollah rockets firing towards Israel.
According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Cabinet ministers voted to declare a "special home front situation” throughout Israel.
The vote was done by telephone, as proposed by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the newspaper added.
Daily Haaretz said 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."
The declaration comes following an Israeli army assassination attempt against Ali Karaki, a top Hezbollah military commander.
Israeli Army Radio earlier quoted military sources saying that airstrikes on a southern suburb of Beirut had targeted Karaki. No further details on his fate were forthcoming, however.
Lebanese health authorities said at least 274 people, including 21 children, had been killed and 1,024 others injured in Israeli attacks since Monday morning, with thousands of civilians forced to flee their homes. The international community has warned against the strikes, 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.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar