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00:00Tensions remain high across the Israeli-Lebanese border a day after the
00:04death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was announced. Israel says it
00:09hit dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight on Saturday, prompting the
00:13militant group to respond with a fresh salvo of rocket attacks. Prime Minister
00:18Benjamin Netanyahu said Nasrallah's killing was a quote necessary step
00:23towards changing the balance of power in the region for years to come. The
00:27sustained military campaign is raising fears the war could spiral into wider
00:32regional conflict. Meanwhile, Israel continues to amass troops along its
00:36northern border with Lebanon, fueling speculation a ground operation could be
00:41imminent. Well, let's get the latest from our reporter Claire Pakalan, standing
00:46by in the Israeli town of Safed, just south of the border. Hi Claire, well good
00:51to have you. You're pretty close to the Lebanese border, aren't you, as rocket
00:55fire exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah continue. How are the people
00:59in Safed reacting to the escalating situation?
01:06So the town of Safed in the upper Galilee is around about 14 kilometres
01:10from Lebanon. You can't quite see Lebanon behind me, it's over the other
01:14side of the crest of the hill that you can just about make out in the
01:18background behind me. And we're near an air force base, which means this
01:22area is very vulnerable to rocket fire coming from Lebanon, fired of
01:27course by Hezbollah. And I've been speaking to people in the town and
01:30they say in the last few weeks, particularly in the last few days, it
01:34has really ramped up and increased. People here in the town telling me
01:38that they've been watching in the last few days, rockets aimed at the
01:42military base landing in the forest near their home, setting trees on
01:47fire. Sometimes the rockets land there, other times they are intercepted by
01:51Israel's air defence system, the Iron Dome. Of course people in Safed are
01:55nervous and anxious, but they do receive alerts on their mobile phones
02:00when the area they're in is getting targeted by rocket fire. And people
02:04have in this town around 30 seconds to get to safety. Not everyone here has
02:10a shelter in their homes. There are some shelters that we've seen in the
02:14streets, but certainly people here are tense and the streets are largely
02:18empty with a lot of people staying home at the moment.
02:21So tensions are really palpable where you are. Now, what could be the next
02:25steps then for Israel's military? And are there any signs that Prime
02:29Minister Netanyahu is ready for a ceasefire?
02:36Well, clearly from the Israeli side, we understand that this military
02:39campaign is still at full force. Israel continuing to pound Hezbollah
02:44targets in Lebanon today. Of course, there's a big question mark over
02:47whether a ground offensive is on the cards. We have ourselves reached out
02:53to the Israeli military, to the Israel Defence Forces, the IDF, and we
02:57were told when we have something to tell you, we will tell you. So we do
03:01not know if a ground offensive is going to happen, if it's going to be
03:05imminent. We don't know if it could have even already started. The
03:07Israeli military are being very tight lipped about that. Of course, what's
03:12important to remember is that while Israel does have superiority in the
03:16skies, going in on the ground into Lebanon is a very different matter.
03:20But Israel has severely degraded Hezbollah, particularly in recent
03:26weeks, taking out the top brass of its leadership, of course, including
03:30the leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in the evening from Friday through to
03:33Saturday. So Hezbollah is degraded, but they are still capable of
03:37launching rockets into northern Israel, where I am now.
03:40Well, Claire Pakavan reporting from Safed in Israel. Thank you for that
03:44update. And please stay safe.