An IDF soldier stands next to an Iron Dome aerial defense battery, near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, July 27, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen.

i24 News – Amid heightened regional security tensions, Israel’s military is bolstering air defense systems across the country and adding additional batteries to the Iron Dome to ensure residents’ safety in the event of an attack.

Dozens of policemen and soldiers will also be deployed in Tel Aviv as the terror threat remains high, Kan public broadcaster reported, over a week after an Italian tourist was killed and several others were wounded after a terrorist rammed his car into them. On the same day, two sisters and their mother were also murdered in the West Bank.

Israel also came under rocket fire last week from armed groups in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, as Israeli forces have remained on high alert as Palestinian groups have called for more violence.

Earlier this week, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu banned Jewish worshipers from entering the Temple Mount – Jerusalem’s holiest site and referred to by Muslims as the Al Aqsa Mosque – until the end of Ramadan following recent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians there.

Despite this apparent move to quell tensions, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate warned that hostilities will remain high and could even lead to war.

In an intelligence report, the Directorate said the recent tensions in Jerusalem required an unusual response against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and other terror groups affiliated with Iran.