The IDF has begun issuing call-up orders to reservists in preparation for an expanded military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Kan News reported on Tuesday morning.

The report follows Israel’s decision on Monday evening to respond forcefully to Hezbollah’s relentless wave of explosive drone attacks from Lebanon. Security discussions regarding expanding operations in Lebanon were held in recent days, despite US opposition, with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir urging further action to combat the Hezbollah explosive drone threat.

However, according to briefings from senior Israeli security officials, Israel has received backing from the US for the move to resume significant military strikes in Lebanon.

Al Jazeera reported, citing a senior US official, that the United States is aware of the renewed fighting. “Hezbollah repeatedly ignored requests to stop firing against Israel, including the latest warning,” the official said. “Therefore, Israel has the right to respond — the Trump administration is not the Biden administration.”

Channel 12 reported that “it appears Israel succeeded in convincing Trump that it must act forcefully in Lebanon and that this is also in the American interest.” The US backing marks a significant policy shift and grants Israel broader freedom of action against Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a video message on Monday evening saying that he has instructed the IDF to escalate its operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. He also addressed the drone threat, saying: “We have a special team working on this, and we will solve that as well.”

The IDF’s Home Front Command announced that new restrictions on gatherings will go into effect on Wednesday at 6 a.m. in yishuvim along the northern border and in Meron, Bar Yochai, Or HaGanuz, and Sifsua. Gatherings are limited to 50 people outdoors and 200 people indoors, down from 200 and 600, respectively.

Many daycare centers and schools in yishuvim along the northern border closed their doors on Tuesday due to the surge in drone attacks. “I won’t take any unnecessary risks and will not allow our children or teaching staff to become targets for the enemy,” the head of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council said.

On Monday, Channel 12 News quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Israel is defenseless against the Hezbollah drone threat—a reference to both the lack of effective protective solutions and the restraints on IDF action in Lebanon due to the so-called ceasefire and the US-Iran talks.

In recent days, the drone threat has also affected civilian areas. “The reality is that our hands are tied, and that has to change soon,” the official says, adding that civilian communities are highly vulnerable to Hezbollah’s low-cost attack drones.

The decision comes amid repeated violations of the “ceasefire” by Hezbollah. On Sunday morning alone, 30! explosive drones detonated near IDF troops operating near the Lebanese border, killing one soldier and seriously injuring another. On Monday morning, three explosive drones detonated inside Israel, one of them exploding near a school bus stop in the yishuv of Shomera.

The IDF issued a warning Monday evening to residents of Lebanon, stating that in the coming hours it would operate forcefully against Hezbollah terror infrastructure in the area of the city of Tyre and the surrounding refugee camps. “Following the ceasefire violations by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the IDF will operate forcefully in the coming hours,” the military statement said.

The IDF called on residents whose homes would be marked in red on maps set to be published to evacuate immediately. “Anyone located near Hezbollah operatives, infrastructure, or weapons endangers their life,” the statement warned.

The Lebanese Al Jadeed channel reported precautionary measures and temporary evacuations underway overnight in Beirut’s Dahiya district due to fears of Israeli escalation. The reports from Lebanon reflect growing concern among residents of the Shiite enclave over the possibility of large-scale Israeli strikes.

The policy shift follows a heavy price paid by Israel due to Hezbollah’s drone attacks. It was cleared for publication on Monday that Sgt. Nehorai Leizer, H’YD 19, from Eilat, a combat soldier in Combat Engineering Battalion 601, was killed by an explosive Hezbollah drone in southern Lebanon.

Thousands of Eilat residents accompanied the young soldier to his levaya on Monday, as the city mourned. Mayor Eli Lankri called him “a hero of Israel who was among the finest sons of Eilat.”

Eleven IDF soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the “ceasefire,” and 24 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war in Lebanon.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)