Israel's Health Ministry sent out an emergency warning to hospitals and rescue teams in the north of the country on Monday to be prepared for a major earthquake centered in southern Lebanon in the near future.
The warning was sent after an inter-ministerial committee studied new seismographic information that revealed southern Lebanon had been hit by no fewer than 500 small tremors since the start of this year. The frequency and strength of those tremors increased during the end of May and first part of June to the point that they were felt across the northern half of Israel.
Health Ministry Director-General Avi Yisraeli wrote that the current assessment is that an earthquake measuring around 6.0 on the Richter Scale will hit southern Lebanon soon.
Yisraeli noted that "such a quake would particularly affect the communities of northern Israel, and would include destruction of buildings and infrastructure."