JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: The Israeli military on Tuesday released new evacuation notices covering around 50 locations in Lebanon, urging residents to leave designated areas immediately ahead of anticipated operations.
In a statement posted on Telegram by the army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, civilians in several southern Lebanese villages were advised to vacate their homes for safety reasons.
Separate warnings were directed at residents of Beirut’s southern neighbourhoods of Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik, cautioning them to keep their distance from specific buildings said to be near Hezbollah-linked sites.
The Israeli military said it intends to carry out strikes targeting what it described as Hezbollah facilities and assets in the affected areas, according to AFP.
Southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs have frequently been the focus of Israeli operations aimed at degrading the group’s infrastructure.
The developments come a day after Lebanon’s government announced a ban on Hezbollah’s military and security activities – a move seen as unprecedented given the group’s political representation in both parliament and the cabinet. Hezbollah strongly criticised the decision.
Earlier on Monday, Hezbollah said it had launched rockets and drones toward Israel, describing the action as retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint US-Israeli strikes.
In response, Israel carried out extensive air raids on Beirut’s southern outskirts and multiple towns in southern Lebanon, pledging severe consequences for the group.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported that at least 31 people were killed and 149 others injured in Monday’s strikes.
