Iran has targeted Israel with seven ballistic missile salvos since midnight, with sirens sounding in Haifa, in the north, Eilat, in the south, and central Israel.
No deaths have been reported. Ambulance service Magen David Adom said two men, both in their fifties, had been lightly injured in central Israel after a missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead spread submunitions across the area.
Damage and fires were caused at multiple sites in the area by the cluster munitions, rescue services said.
Three people, including one child, were wounded in Eilat. Hezbollah fired 10 rockets into the Haifa area but there were no injuries reported there, according to Hebrew media.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 has reported that Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Benjamin Netanyahu’s, recently visited Saudi Arabia to discuss with senior officials there an initiative for a possible peace agreement with the Lebanese government.
Dermer, who previously served as Israel’s strategic affairs minister, will also lead negotiations with the Lebanese government itself, if they are launched in the coming weeks, it is understood.
Lebanese officials have told news agency AFP that Beirut is preparing to form a delegation to negotiate with Israel in a bid to stop the war, as the government attempts to disarm Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah. There is no Israeli commitment to attending peace talks, however.
Last week, the JC reported how Israel is trying, with American backing, to help and support the Lebanese government as, for the first time in many years, there are signs of internal resistance to Hezbollah within Lebanon.
Defence minister Israel Katz has approved the reopening of schools, pre-schools, and special education centres in some areas from tomorrow. Municipal leaders will decide whether to accept the recommendation to reopen beyond these areas.
In the rest of the country, the IDF’s Home Front Command, which is responsible for civil protection, recommended continuing distance learning.
National carrier El Al, which previously cancelled all regular scheduled flights until March 14 due to Israel’s state of emergency, has extended this period to March 21. Until then, the airline will continue to operate special flights only. These include flights to New York tomorrow to repatriate thousands of US citizens who have been stranded in the country since the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28.
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