KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant today announced a 48-hour nationwide state of emergency, starting from 6am as Hezbollah launches large-scale air strikes from Lebanon.

The Israeli military is also carrying out a series of pre-emptive strikes against Hezbollah.

"The declaration on the state of emergency enables the IDF to issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where it may be relevant,” Gallant was quoted as saying by French news agency AFP in a statement issued by his office.

IDF stands for the Israel Defence Forces.

Earlier today, AFP reported Hezbollah announcing that it would be launching rockets and drone attacks towards Israel in an "initial response” to the killing of its commander Fuad Shukr last month.

Hezbollah reportedly said its airstrikes are targeting "a number of enemy positions and barracks and Iron Dome platforms... with a large number of rockets” in Israel while the Zionist government said it was doing the same after detecting preparations for "large-scale” attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Tensions in the Middle East have been growing for weeks after Hezbollah and Iran vowed to respond to Israel’s strikes that killed Fuad in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

AFP reported Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport announcing that flights were being delayed and diverted on Sunday morning.