Northern Israel in emergency: The unfolding crisis with Lebanon

The Israelis woke up on Saturday, a day before the three-month anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Flood War, finding the entire northern region in a state of extreme emergency, warning of the possibility of a war with Lebanon.

In the morning, Israel was shaken in Mount Meron, near Safed, a strategic and sensitive area with an air force base. Hezbollah targeted it in an initial response to the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri in the heart of the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Israel expected an escalation, but not with this precision or an impact on an area that is almost secret even for Israelis.

The Israelis, who received a clear message after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech, did not wait long to clarify their stance on this area.

Hezbollah's missile barrages were not limited to the Meron base but covered a vast area in the north and Upper Galilee, forcing Israelis to open shelters and close roads, vital for movement in the north.

Furthermore, the army declared the area a closed military zone two kilometers from the Lebanon border.

The rocket attacks, accompanied by air raid sirens warning of the infiltration of drones, confused the army units and led them to activate defense systems.

Amid this, the Israeli debate entered a decisive stage between the diplomatic solution and the military operation, all while awaiting the arrival of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, expected on Tuesday.

Seventy percent of the northern population's pressure toward executing a military operation has not, until now, influenced the decision to declare war on Lebanon.

However, some Israelis consider the cost of such a war to be high for their country, coming at the expense of the Gaza conflict.

This pushes them to demand increased pressure on US officials to ensure a diplomatic agreement that guarantees lasting calm on the Israeli-Lebanese border instead of a war that will drag the entire region into a dangerous regional conflict.