"Kiryat Shmona" Mayor Avihai Stern urged all settlers to evacuate, expressing concern about Hezbollah's potential response to Hamas top official Saleh al-Arouri's assassination.

The Deputy Chief of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, Saleh al-Arouri, was martyred on Tuesday evening, as a result of an attack that targeted the Southern Suburb of Beirut.

"I believe that since October 7, we have been engaged in a battle: feeling and hearing it distinctly... Unfortunately, there is damage to both property and lives," Stern told the Israeli Ynet website.

"I hear various euphemisms, almost like a war, a war of attrition, and all sorts of different definitions... Comrades, this is war... There is no other definition for the situation, and I don't know what escalation is," the Israeli mayor added.

Decision-making in Hezbollah's hands

In a related context, the head of the Israeli occupation Regional Council in Upper al-Jalil, Giora Zaltz, commented on the fact that Islamic Resistance operations continue in the direction of northern occupied Palestine, criticizing the conduct of Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

In an interview for Israeli Radio 103FM, Zaltz said, “We are keeping the keys with (Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah and not with us, and he does as he sees fit,” referring to the intensity of the operations on the Lebanese-Palestinian border.

Israeli media previously reported that the Israeli occupation authorities evacuated new settlements in northern occupied Palestine, highlighting that these settlements had not been evacuated since 1948.

Israeli Channel 13 correspondent, Shlomi Eldar, also emphasized that Israeli settlements such as "Metulla, Shtula, Kiryat Shmona, and others adjacent to the border with Lebanon are within the range of Hezbollah's missiles all the time."

"Hezbollah is present near the border and has stepped up its anti-tank missile attacks," Eldar mentioned, stressing that the attacks against Israeli sites have become "more accurate and dangerous."

Operations overview

- At 09:00, the Islamic Resistance's fighters attacked an Israeli assembly point in "Shtula".

- At 11:00, the Islamic Resistance's fighters attacked the al-Jirdah military site.

- At 11:10, the Islamic Resistance's fighters attacked an Israeli assembly point in Manara.

- At 11:10, the Islamic Resistance's fighters attacked an Israeli assembly point in "Metula". 

- At 16:00, the Islamic Resistance's fighters attacked an Israeli reconnaissance point in "Misgav Am", destroying it completely.

- At 16:00, the Islamic Resistance's fighters attacked a new Israeli assembly point in the vicinity of the Marj military site.

- At 18:30, the Islamic Resistance's fighters attacked an Israeli assembly point in the vicinity of the Israeli "Shomera" barracks.