Netanyahu to hold security meeting amid northern escalation: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting Saturday with officials from defense institutions to assess the situation in northern Israel following Tel Aviv’s escalation in southern Lebanon, according to a report.

Channel 13 reported that Netanyahu scheduled an urgent security assessment with Defense Minister Israel Katz, army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and army commanders in the north.

It said that "the Israeli army was surprised by the scale of the rocket fire and Hezbollah's decision to change its fire policy in response to the expansion of the Israeli army's ground operations in southern Lebanon."

The report explained that "dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon toward the north on Saturday, and for the first time since the ceasefire began (on April 17), these rockets reached the cities of Safed and Nahariya" in northern Israel.

It noted that there is "utter chaos and an uncontrollable situation (in the north)," adding, "The government is not concerned about this."

In a related development, Israeli Army Radio reported Saturday that sirens sounded 1,099 times in the north since the start of the fragile ceasefire between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said it launched drone attacks targeting Israeli soldiers near the settlement of Natua and at the Galilee Forest military camp in northern Israel.

In recent weeks, Hezbollah drones have raised growing concern in Israel, with Netanyahu describing them as a “major threat” due to the difficulty in detecting them.

Israel has continued attacks on Lebanon despite the ceasefire that was extended for 45 days beginning May 17, following indirect talks mediated by the US.

Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed more than 3,371 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

*Writing by Rasa Evrensel in Istanbul