Tensions have escalated internationally since Saturday, with warnings of a potential Israeli war with the Lebanese group Hezbollah following increased hostility in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Despite numerous attempts to de-escalate and calls for restraint, the Israeli Army’s Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, declared on Sunday the commencement of what he described as “the next phase of the war in the north.”
During his visit to the attack site, Halevi announced that his forces are stepping up their preparedness for continued fighting in the north, specifying that they precisely located the origin of the missile fired at Majdal Shams.
He confirmed that the missile targeted at Majdal Shams was armed with a 53-kilogram warhead.
Halevi emphasized his army’s capability to launch extensive airstrikes far from Israel, committing to using all means to facilitate the return of residents to northern areas of Galilee and Golan.
This statement comes amid the ongoing displacement of thousands from northern Israel due to the escalation with Hezbollah since the onset of the Israeli war on Gaza nine months ago.
This announcement coincides with Tel Aviv’s reaffirmed intent to intensify the already strained confrontation along the Lebanese border, despite Hezbollah’s denial of involvement in a rocket attack on a football stadium in the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights on Saturday, which has so far resulted in 12 fatalities.
The Israeli military stated that the rocket was unusually heavy, accusing Hezbollah of orchestrating the attack.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered a response, igniting international warnings of a potential conflict in the region, described by the United Nations as unspeakably dangerous.
Since then, both sides have exchanged gunfire across the border, with Israel striking targets deep within Lebanon, as announced by the military.
