Netanyahu emphasized that although the intense operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah are expected to conclude shortly, the broader war against Hamas will persist until the group is completely ousted from power

The heightened tensions have been fueled by recent clashes along the Israeli-Lebanese border, coinciding with increased hostilities in Gaza following provocations by Hamas last October

The approval for the offensive came after a "situation assessment" meeting attended by senior military officials, including Major General Ori Gordin, commander of the Northern Military Region, and Major General Oded Basyuk, head of Operations at the IDF General Staff

The strike, which occurred late Tuesday in the town of Jouya, intensified the already high tensions between the two adversaries, leading to a barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon into Northern Israel

The assault was reportedly a retaliation for Israeli strikes on Lebanese villages, including one that tragically claimed the lives of at least two individuals, including an 11-year-old girl, in Hanin the day before

Central to their strategy, according to Gallant, is the deliberate provocation of Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as the mobilization of Hezbollah and sympathetic factions across the Arab and Muslim world