Israeli health authorities are moving patients from areas of northern Israel to hospitals in central parts of the country in what appears to be preparations for a war with Lebanon, local media reports according to Anadolu Agency.

Israeli private Channel 12 said it was the first time such a move has occurred since the start of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct 7 last year.

It added that the patients who were transferred from the north are complex medical cases, and many of them are placed on ventilators.

The channel noted that bed occupancy in intensive care units at hospitals in northern Israel is “relatively small,” including the Ziv Medical Center, the Poria Hospital, and the Galilee Medical Center.