Northern Israel faced a barrage of rocket fire on Saturday as Hezbollah launched multiple attacks, forcing authorities to implement emergency measures including hospital relocations and educational facility shutdowns.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that rockets launched from Lebanon targeting the Kiryat Shmona region were successfully intercepted. Military officials later announced that another wave of rockets directed at Karmiel was also stopped, with no casualties reported from either incident.
Defense forces intercepted additional projectiles heading toward Safed and surrounding northern towns. Video footage from Nahariya captured rockets splashing into the Mediterranean Sea close to the coastline as people on the beach scrambled for cover.
Following the attacks, the IDF Home Front Command enacted enhanced security protocols throughout northern Israel. Educational institutions near the Lebanon border were shuttered, while schools in other northern areas were limited to operating only where protective shelters could be accessed quickly. Work facilities may remain open under identical shelter accessibility requirements. Outdoor public events are capped at 50 attendees, indoor gatherings at 200, and coastal areas have been shut down.
The Health Ministry declared that the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya would transfer its operations to a fortified underground complex in response to the heightened security guidelines and ongoing rocket and drone strikes from Hezbollah.
Military sources also disclosed that forces targeted a Hezbollah artillery command facility in the Burj al-Shamali region of southern Lebanon on Friday. The IDF stated the location was occupied during the strike, with subsequent secondary explosions suggesting weapons stockpiles were housed within the building.
As Hezbollah intensified its attacks, opposition leaders Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot voiced sharp criticism of the government’s response.
“The government is returning us to the contemptible policy of containment and normalizing an intolerable and unacceptable situation,” Bennett wrote. “Over the weekend, sirens were heard every 20 minutes across the north and people were forced to seek shelter. This is not victory.”
The escalation occurred as Israeli and Lebanese military representatives began Pentagon-facilitated discussions in Washington on Friday, part of a new American-supported security coordination framework designed to prevent further escalation and strengthen the ceasefire established in mid-April.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital: “As we have continuously stated, the only path to lasting peace is through direct negotiations between the two sovereign governments.”
