Israel’s military on Sunday issued fresh evacuation warnings for villages in southern Lebanon beyond the area under its control, despite a truce aimed at halting hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The warning covered more than 10 villages and towns, including the city of Nabatieh, located several kilometres north of the Litani River. Israeli troops remain stationed south of the river.
“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 metres into open areas,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X.
“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, and their combat means exposes their life to danger!,” the post said.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least seven people and injured others, even as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remains in place.
A day earlier, the Israeli military had issued evacuation warnings to residents of nine southern villages. Israel and the Hezbollah group have continued exchanges of fire despite the ceasefire that came into effect on April 17.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an airstrike targeting a car in Kfar Dajal killed two people, while another strike on a house in Lwaizeh killed three. Two more people died in a separate strike on Shoukin.
In recent weeks, the Israeli army has levelled neighbourhoods in towns and villages along the Lebanese-Israeli border, stating that the structures were used as outposts by the Iran-backed group.
The Israeli military also released a video showing what it said were Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon being destroyed. The footage, released on Friday, shows soldiers carrying an Israeli flag and moving through the ruins of a football stadium in the town of Bint Jbeil. According to the military, the air force “destroyed the town’s stadium after it was discovered to be booby-trapped.”
The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2, when the group fired rockets into northern Israel. This came two days after the United States and Israel launched military action against Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer. Since then, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes and initiated a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, capturing dozens of border towns and villages.
Lebanon and Israel have since held their first direct talks in over 30 years. The two nations have formally remained in a state of war since Israel’s establishment in 1948. A 10-day ceasefire announced in Washington took effect on April 17 and was later extended by three weeks.
