On Saturday evening, following the situational assessment, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that as of Saturday at 20:30, changes will be made to the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines.
The changes are relevant for the following areas: the Lower Galilee, the Upper Galilee, the Haifa Bay area, the Central Galilee, and some of the communities in the southern Golan Heights (Jordan Valley) in accordance with the situational assessment.
The communities along the confrontation line, the northern Golan Heights, and the southern Golan Heights are to follow the guidelines that have been in place until now.
As part of the situational assessment, a number of changes have been made: gatherings will be limited to 30 participants in an open area, to 300 participants in a closed space, arrival to work is permitted as long as there is a protected space available, and educational activities can continue as long as there are protected spaces available.
The instructions published on the official Home Front Command channels must be followed. The full instructions are updated on the National Emergency Portal and the Home Front Command app.
Responding to questions following the announcement, Hagari stressed that guidelines for the rest of Israel remain unchanged. "If there is a change overnight, I will update the public," he promised.
"In the past hour, we have been striking extensively in southern Lebanon, following detection of Hezbollah preparing to fire toward Israeli territory," Hagari said during the briefing. "Dozens of Israeli Air Force aircraft are currently striking terrorist targets and rocket launchers to remove the threat to Israeli civilians."
"We are methodically targeting and degrading Hezbollah’s launching capabilities, eliminating commanders and terrorists, as we did throughout the day. Overall, today we struck approximately 400 Hezbollah launchers, including thousands of rocket launcher barrels.
"In accordance with the situational assessment and our operations, in the last few minutes, the Minister of Defense signed a special order for the home front. We are taking all necessary precautions, and this evening, we are updating the Home Front defensive guidelines from the Haifa area northwards to 'Level 2.' This means that from Haifa northwards, educational and work activities can continue in locations where it is possible to reach a protected space within the required time. Gatherings are permitted indoors for up to 300 people and outdoors for up to 30 people. Full instructions can be found on the Home Front Command website.
"If there are any further updates overnight or in the morning, we will notify immediately. Rockets and other threats may be launched toward Israeli territory in the near future. We ask you to strictly follow the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines.
"We are in the midst of a time of warfare, so it is important to remain vigilant and alert. I will update you immediately here and on official platforms regarding any changes to the defensive guidelines."
He added, "Yesterday, in a targeted strike in Beirut, we eliminated Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah's Operations Unit, along with 15 commanders of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit. They had gathered in the heart of the Dahieh neighborhood in Beirut, under the cover of the civilian population. They met to plan terror attacks and infiltrations into Israeli territory, but we knew where they were, and preempted them - eliminating them in a precise and powerful operation conducted by the Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Air Force."
"We are prepared for what’s next and are in a very high state of readiness both offensively and defensively. IAF aircraft are armed and ready to strike anywhere, and our aerial defense systems are deployed and on high alert to intercept threats."
Following the announcement, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) beaches were closed to the public.