Protests in Israel, America and Europe for a "hostage deal now," especially at any cost, is what encourages Hamas to set impossible conditions, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lamented yesterday, which in turn puts a deal further out of reach.

Barrage of 100 rockets hit northern Israel. Two wounded in Katzrin on the Golan Heights.

Along with rockets, Hezbollah has launched dozens of suicide drones at northern Israel this afternoon.

The rockets have caused numerous wildfires, which are spreading faster than usual due to soaring temperatures.

Ok, I thought this was a joke when it first started going viral on Israeli and Arab social media channels this morning.

But it's real.

IDF soldiers on the northern border are using a trebuchet to burn away thickets along the border in order to deny cover to Hezbollah terrorists.

Egypt lied.

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/tachles-with-aviel-egypt-lied-to-israel/

Hezbollah: "We will destroy the north [of Israel] and everyone in it. Our response [to the elimination of a top Hezbollah commander] will be to unleash unrelenting fire in order to subdue Israel."

IDF: "The situation in the north is grave and we will respond with great force."

While full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah appears imminent, a new civil war in Lebanon is also brewing.

Christians, Druze and Sunni Muslims are talking about taking up arms against Hezbollah to prevent the Iranian proxy from dragging the country to ruin.

Hezbollah isn't going to surrender without a fight, so war is likely necessary. But it should be clear that it won't be Israel vs. Lebanon.

Israel will have allies, or at least forces with common cause on the Lebanese side.

Katzrin, in the central Golan Heights.

Hezbollah attacks are creeping further and further south, making more and more of northern Israel unlivable.

2 wounded in Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack in Margaliot.

The Israeli cabinet will convene this evening to discuss the serious escalation in the north.

Overnight a building in Tyre, Lebanon used as a headquarters for Hezbollah was reportedly hit by a missile fired from the sea.

Northern Israel is tense with anticipation for what this day might bring.

After quitting the emergency unity government, Benny Gantz has reversed some of his positions.

Summary of his Channel 12 interview last night:

Gantz: Suggests that Shiri Bibas and her children are dead.

Bibas family: Irresponsible remark. We continue to hold out hope.

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Gantz: Netanyahu prevented a hostage release deal.

Likud: Netanyahu gave full authority to negotiators to reach a deal. It was Hamas that prevented a deal by insisting on an end to the war before its goals are met.

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Gantz: Israel should end the war in Gaza, and resume it in a year or two.

In other words, get the hostages back now by agreeing to a "permanent" ceasefire as Hamas demands, and then destroy Hamas later. A totally naive position that will allow Hamas to rebuild, and which assumes the international community will support Israel launching another major Gaza war at a later date.

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Gantz: We should reach a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah.

With all his experience, does Gantz still not understand who and what Hezbollah is? It is not a pragmatic group that can be reasoned with. It exists for the sole purpose of destroying Israel, and is driven by fanatical devotion to jihadist Islam.

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Benny Gantz is positioning himself as the Neville Chamberlain of Israel.

Sami Jameel, a member of the Lebanese Parliament for the Christian Al-Ktayeb Party:

"We (Christians) want to live in peace and brotherhood, but Hezbollah wants war... We are children of peace and brotherhood. We hate death... We do not want to live in a state of war."

Osama Hamdan, another Hamas leader based in Lebanon, told CNN that no one really knows how many Israeli hostages are still alive.

According to Israeli figures, 120 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, but at least 30 of them are believed to be dead.