The government is expected to extend the evacuation order for the 60,000 residents of the northern border area at least until July 7, Ynet has learned on Sunday. The Prime Minister's Office was considering that date to be pushed even further, until August, raising expectations for a war against Hezbollah.
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The pending decision is in line with demands by local government heads after the extension of two months at a time only, was suggested by the military. This while diplomatic efforts to avoid a full-scale war were ongoing.
The order takes into consideration the end of the school year after Education Minister Yoav Kisch said he was committed to allowing children to remain in the schools they are currently attending rather than forcing them again to relocate, while there has been no official government decision made or announced.
A senior official in the PMO said that if security considerations allow, the evacuated residents would be able to return home sooner, and that some certainty could be expected in the coming months. Until then, the government would continue to pay for their stay at hotels or cover the cost of rent for their temporary accommodations.
Security officials understand that a military offensive against Hezbollah cannot be launched because of opposition from the United States and France who are hoping to reach a diplomatic agreement that would remove the Iran-backed terror group from the border with Israel.
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Aftermath of an Israeli strike on the area of Tyre in South Lebanon
(Photo: Wael Hamzeh / EPA)
The tit-for-tat exchanges of fire across the border have thus far remained within the mutually accepted boundary of no further than 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the border, an area mostly evacuated on the Israeli side. Meanwhile the IDF has been targeting terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon in order to exact a price from Hezbollah for its fire on Israel and in order to diminish its military capabilities if and when war breaks out.