REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: With 300,000 reservists called up, many areas are festooned with tanks, soldiers, camps, and military vehicles on the move, with temporary concrete shelters being delivered.
In addition, an alert sounded for a suspected terrorist infiltration in Hanita, in Western Galilee, south of the Lebanese border.
Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets claimed a drone had been launched toward Israel from Lebanon on Thursday.
The victims were local business owners who were extorted and threatened on behalf of the broader criminal enterprise.
Sprawling waves of fog embossed the horizon. The sun crawled above the mountains in the distance. Lights from the nearest community danced and teased the morning sky.
Magic mirrors were used to protect against the Evil Eye in ancient times.
The police action came as part of an ongoing effort to combat the widespread extortion of protection money in the region.
This year the festival was dedicated to the memory of Hayim Nachman Bialik, whose birth took place 150 years ago near Zhytomyr, Russia.
Together with our allies, we must send a resolute message that further attempts to provoke us along the border will be met with a robust and unwavering response.
Commercial flights from Israel's Haifa Airport to Cyprus will run six days a week, with two daily flights to Larnaca and one daily flight to Paphos.