BEIRUT: Israel's military on Tuesday warned residents of more than a dozen villages and towns in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate and head northwards, saying it would respond to Hezbollah's "violation of the ceasefire" there. The military "does not intend to harm you, and out of concern for your safety, you are required to evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the specified area towards the Sidon District", Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X. "Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities or their weapons is endangering their life," he added.
All the areas listed in the post appear to be outside or on the border of the so-called "Yellow Line" — a strip of Lebanese territory around 10 kilometres deep along the border within which Israeli troops are operating. Israel and Hezbollah have traded blame over violations of the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon agreed earlier this month, and attacks by both sides have continued.
In two incidents on Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said an interceptor was launched "toward a suspicious aerial target that was identified in an area where IDF forces are operating in southern Lebanon". On both occasions, it said the target did not cross into Israeli territory. The military also announced on Tuesday morning that one soldier had been severely injured and another lightly injured a day earlier "as a result of an explosive drone impact during operational activity in southern Lebanon". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Hezbollah's rockets and drones remained a key threat requiring action by the Israeli military, adding that Israel was continuing to carry out strikes. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by firing rockets towards Israel to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, Israel on Tuesday said it was not seeking to take territory in Lebanon, as its military issued a wave of new evacuation warnings for towns and villages in the battle-scarred south. "Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. Our presence... serves one purpose: protecting our citizens," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told a news conference. "No country would be willing to live in such a way with a gun pointed to its head," he said as the military pressed its operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said direct talks with Israel sought to end the Israel-Hezbollah war and that those who dragged Lebanon into it were the ones committing "treason" — a jab at the Iran-backed group, which claimed several attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon on Monday. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem called direct talks between the two countries a "sin", while Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned the group's rejection of negotiations would bring catastrophic consequences for Lebanon.
Lebanese state media reported Israeli air strikes in multiple locations in south Lebanon, including around a dozen sites in the evening. The health ministry said Israeli strikes on the south killed four people on Monday, including a woman, and wounded 51 others. Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 people in Lebanon since the truce began, according to health ministry figures. — AFP
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