Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a
security assessment at the Kirya in Tel Aviv with the War Cabinet members and
senior security establishment officials.
Taking to his official on X, Israeli PM Netanyahu’s
office stated, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently holding a
security assessment at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, together with members of the War
Cabinet and senior security establishment officials.”
Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7 after the
terrorist group unleashed a rocket barrage from across the border in Gaza and
sent in fighters, who crossed over and broke into homes, killing civilians.
While many of them were engaged by Israeli forces,
some managed to sneak back into Gaza with more than 200 civilian hostages.
Earlier, on Sunday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)
said they had carried out strikes against two more Hezbollah squads in southern
Lebanon before they could launch attacks on Israel.
One of the Hezbollah cells, in the Mount Dov area,
planned to launch rockets, while the second, near the northern town of Mattat,
planned to launch an anti-tank guided missile, the IDF added.
This strike marked the sixth and seventh Hezbollah
cells that the IDF hit on Sunday, The Times of Israel reported.
It stated further that it was currently carrying out a
wave of airstrikes against dozens of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Also, earlier in the day, several Merkava tanks and
troops were positioned by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) near the Gaza border
in South Israel, following the government’s announcement that it intends to
launch a ground operation against Hamas in the “near future”.
The Merkava, a series of main battle tanks utilised by
the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), serves as the cornerstone of its armoured
corps.
The Merkava gained significant operational experience
during the 1982 Lebanon War, and its name is derived from the IDF’s initial
development programme.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed hostages abducted
and held in Gaza since the shock assault rose to 212.
ANI
