Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel faced “complex days” as it stepped up strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and called on Israelis to remain united as the campaign unfolds.

“I promised that we will change the balance of security, the balance of power in the north – that is exactly what we are doing,” he said in a message issued after an assessment of the situation at military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

It is noted that since early this morning Israel launched a barrage of attacks in southern Lebanon against terrorist targets of Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 182 people were killed and more than 700 injured Monday, including children, women and doctors, by Israeli strikes.

At the same time, IDF spokesman Vice Admiral Daniel Haggari issued a warning to civilians in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, calling on them to leave within two hours the houses where Hezbollah has stored weapons.

“We are preparing to strike terrorist targets in the Bekaa Valley in the near future. Hezbollah strategically stores weapons there, in civilian buildings, and uses the population as human shields and knowingly puts them at risk,” he told a news conference.

“I am warning the Lebanese residents in the villages in the Bekaa Valley. This is a specific warning to the people of the Bekaa Valley. Residents who are near buildings or inside houses where missiles and weapons are stored, move away from them immediately!’ Hagari announced.