The first mercy flight out of Lebanon will land in Sydney today as the Israeli incursion intensifies.
More than 200 Australians are on board the flight, which left Beirut and previously touched down in Cyprus yesterday.
It comes as Israel launches further attacks on Lebanon and Gaza in its multi-front war on the anniversary of Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack last year.
READ MORE: Strike on mosque kills 19 as Israel bombards northern Gaza and southern Beirut
Israel Defence Forces international spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that Israel would be enforcing extra security measures across the country on the anniversary.
“We know (Hamas) have a tendency to try and carry out terror attacks on these kind of symbolic dates … and that’s why we’re preparing for that, adding forces in the south and preparing for that kind of thing,” he said.
Shoshani added that Hamas had fired rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday, a day before the anniversary.
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Asked by CNN about Hamas’ abilities to continue firing these rockets into the south and Tel Aviv, Shoshani said the number of rockets fired had “dropped dramatically.”
“Hamas had dozens of thousands of rockets. Hezbollah has had somewhere in the vicinity of 150,000 rockets. So even though we have great progress, there’s still a way to go. We’ve seen the numbers drop drastically. The amount of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel has dropped dramatically,” he said.
Israel is closely coordinating with the US as it prepares to strike back at Iran following the Islamic republic’s major missile attack.
READ MORE: Israel expands its bombardment in Lebanon as tens of thousands flee
Even as the US has made clear it opposes a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel has not ruled out any of its options.
“Everything is on the table,” said Gallant, who will meet with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin this week to coordinate on threats from Iran and its proxies.
“Israel has capabilities to hit targets near and far — we have proved it. We will respond to the Iranian attack appropriately. We will not stand by and neither should the international community,” Gallant said.
Gallant has become one of Israel’s key interlocutors with the US, speaking frequently with Austin and top White House officials. He also met Sunday with General Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of US Central Command, to discuss Israel’s planned retaliation against Iran.
Gallant also touted the success of Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah so far, saying Israel has “dismantled a major part of their capabilities” and that Hezbollah now faces “a lack of command and control.”
The defence minister said the ground operation remains limited to targeting Hezbollah positions closer to the border, even as the operation has expanded in recent days.
Gallant argued that the blows Israel has dealt against Hezbollah “have made a crack that now opens the door to change not just in Lebanon, but in the entire Middle East.”
With CNN.
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