IDF to introduce early warnings for Lebanon rocket attacks

Hezbollah UAV hits Metula home amid wave of attacks, none hurt; ministers urge escalation

IDF warns residents of 10 south Lebanon towns to leave ahead of strikes on terror group; Ben Gvir, Smotrich demand major attacks, as Aoun calls Israeli withdrawal ‘non-negotiable’

An unmanned aerial vehicle launched by Hezbollah impacted in the northern border community of Metula on Monday, striking a residential home but causing no injuries.

The incident prompted far-right ministers to demand ramped-up fighting in Lebanon, ahead of a potential Iran-US deal that could curb Israeli action against the terror group.

The UAV was initially suggested to have been an explosive-laden drone, although the IDF later issued a clarification that this was not the case.

UAVs typically refer to larger, military-grade remotely piloted aircraft, whereas drones often refer to smaller, commercially available quadcopters that can be modified to carry explosives.

The IDF said troops were dispatched to the scene alongside additional security forces.

According to the military, Hezbollah apparently launched three UAVs in the incident. One crashed in Metula, another fell inside Israeli territory near the Lebanese border, and a third crashed in an area where troops were operating in southern Lebanon.

The incident came amid a series of drone infiltrations throughout the day, which set off sirens in communities along the Israel-Lebanon border. No injuries were reported in any of the incidents.

A few hours later, sirens again sounded in a raft of border towns, warning of another suspected drone infiltration. Shortly thereafter, in an apparent explanation for the sirens, the IDF said a drone had hit in an area where troops were operating in southern Lebanon.

In one incident, the IDF said a Hezbollah explosive drone struck the northern border community of Shomera.

A resident of the community told the Kan public broadcaster that Shomera was “in chaos” following the strike.

“Children are locked in the kindergarten, drones are in the air, and live fire [can be heard],” the resident said.

According to the military, additional drones also fell inside Israeli territory, with some landing in a military zone near the Lebanese border.

The IDF said it also identified several “suspicious aerial targets” during multiple drone infiltration alerts across the north, but later lost contact with them, suggesting that they either left the monitored airspace or crashed.

No injuries were reported in any of the incidents, which the military said were under investigation.

In the wake of the Metula impact, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must “inform” US President Donald Trump that the war in Lebanon is being restarted.

“We must not normalize the reality of explosive drones. The time has come for the prime minister to bang on Trump’s desk and inform him that we are returning to war in Lebanon,” Ben Gvir declared in a statement, days ahead of a planned round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington.

“We must cut off the electricity in Lebanon, conquer the Zahrani, and return to high-intensity warfare,” he added, referencing a river north of the Litani River, indicating a wish to expand the area held by the IDF.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for strikes on Beirut in a separate statement that also announced his approval of an NIS 2 billion ($692.8 million) budget for “technological solutions to the drone threat.”

“A strategic threat is not met with defense alone; for every explosive drone, ten buildings in Beirut need to fall,” Smotrich declared.

The bellicose statements came a day after one Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed, and another was seriously wounded, by an explosive drone, in addition to other fatalities in recent weeks as the army struggles to counter the UAV threat.

Highlighting the threat posed to northern communities, Channel 12 reported on Monday that only 600 children registered to start kindergarten in war-ravaged Kiryat Shmona later this year, down from 1,000 in 2023.

Only eight first-grade classes are expected to open, compared to 13 classes that opened before the war began on October 7, 2023, when Hezbollah opened fire on Israel in support of Hamas.

Out of 300 middle school students, only 200 are expected to return to the Kiryat Shmona school system, the report said.

The report came amid concern in Israel that an emerging deal to end the US-Iran war will include a clause declaring an end to the fighting in Lebanon.

Jerusalem, which launched the war in Iran together with the US, has been almost entirely locked out of the negotiations between Washington and Tehran, according to reports.

Separately, Lebanon and Israel began landmark US-brokered talks last month and are preparing for a fourth round in early June, preceded by a meeting between military delegations at the Pentagon on May 29.

Looking ahead to those talks, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Monday that Israel’s withdrawal from his country’s south was a “non-negotiable” demand that authorities would pursue through negotiations.

In a statement commemorating Israel’s previous withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, Aoun said that “this year, the anniversary of the liberation comes as Lebanon is weighed down by a painful reality.”

“Israeli attacks have not stopped and our dear southern villages are still suffering under a renewed occupation,” he said. “Lebanon will not accept this reality.”

“The path to a full Israeli withdrawal will remain a non-negotiable, constant national demand that the Lebanese state works to achieve through the option of negotiations,” Aoun said.

Israeli officials, however, have said troops will remain in southern Lebanon until the threat of Hezbollah is removed.

Additionally, the IDF issued evacuation warnings on Monday for ten villages and towns in southern Lebanon ahead of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets.

Residents of Nabatiyeh at-Tahta, Al-Lwaiza, Sajd, Ain Qana, Harouf, Zibdin, Kfar Reman, Doueir, Adshit Al-Shaqif and Meidoun were instructed to evacuate at least a kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

“In light of the Hezbollah terror organization’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is forced to act against it with force and does not intend to harm you,” warned army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.

Adraee later issued an additional evacuation warning for the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and surrounding areas ahead of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

“We call on residents whose buildings will be marked in red on the known maps, which will be published later, to immediately evacuate their homes for their own safety, as the IDF does not intend to harm them,” he warned.

On the home front, the IDF confirmed reports that it was preparing to begin issuing advance alerts ahead of incoming rocket fire from Hezbollah, though the early alerts would not apply to drone attacks.

In a statement, the military said the Home Front Command had recently been working to implement the broadcast of early warnings for rocket launches from Lebanon “in order to provide the public with additional preparation time wherever possible,” adding that the move was intended “to save lives.”

“Once the process is completed, the public will be updated through the official platforms of the Home Front Command and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit,” the statement read.

Channel 12 reported on Sunday that the new warning system was expected to go into effect in the coming days and would provide civilians with additional time to prepare before sirens sound, ranging from a few extra seconds in northern border communities to as much as two minutes in more distant areas of the country.