The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) approved on Monday the government’s request to extend the country’s declaration of a special emergency situation on the home front until March 12, amid Israel’s ongoing Operation Roaring Lion.
The committee approved the extension of the emergency declaration during an operational intelligence briefing on the ongoing joint Israel-US campaign against Iran, which began on Saturday.
“We are preparing for a prolonged campaign. Israel will not stop halfway until the threat is completely eliminated,” FADC chair MK Boaz Bismuth said following the meeting.
Committee members were said to have been briefed by representatives of the National Security Council, the IDF Operations Directorate, and the Military Intelligence Directorate.
The briefing addressed preparations for the campaign, the current situation assessment, and readiness for ongoing operations, the Knesset press office said.
Additional FADC updates
The committee was also said to have received a briefing from the Home Front Command, during which members raised inquiries and concerns they had received from the field.
In addition, the committee unanimously approved the expansion of an order under the Equipment Registry and Mobilization Law for the IDF, which concerns the number of vehicles that may be requisitioned.
Following the session, the Subcommittee for Intelligence, also chaired by Bismuth, convened to discuss various aspects of Operation Roaring Lion.
While the meeting was taking place, Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) held a security assessment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the operation, expressing his full support for the campaign.
“I told the prime minister that all of Israel is united behind the operation,” Lapid said after the meeting. Lapid made the remarks while visiting Beit Shemesh at an impact site where an Iranian ballistic missile killed nine people on Sunday.
“I just came directly from a security briefing with the prime minister, where I told him that all of Israel stands behind this operation, that all of Israel is strong and provides support,” he said.
Netanyahu arrived at the missile impact scene later on, stating, “The day is near when the Iranian people will be able to throw off the yoke of tyranny. This is a struggle for humanity.”
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett also visited the Beit Shemesh missile impact site separately, expressing firm support for the government’s operation against Iran. Bennett is a leading rival candidate against Netanyahu in the upcoming elections.
“Every hour of our operations in Iran is another step in dismantling the Iranian death machine that has been built over thirty years,” he said.
“The Israeli public is now required to focus on three things: determination, safety, and unity. Act with determination, adhere to safety, follow all instructions, and remain united,” Bennett added.