In a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict, Israel has ordered the evacuation of 23 Lebanese villages situated north of the Awali River. The Israeli military, through its spokesman Avichay Adraee, issued a message to the residents of southern Lebanon, urging them to leave their homes for their own safety. The order explicitly mentions villages that have been recent targets of Israeli airstrikes.
The Israeli military has attributed the need for evacuations to increased activity by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group. Israel claims that Hezbollah is concealing weapons and launching attacks from these areas. However, Hezbollah has vehemently denied using civilian areas to store weaponry.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted last year with Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on northern Israel in support of Hamas during the Gaza war, has intensified dramatically in recent weeks. According to the Lebanese government, the escalating Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut have forced over 1.2 million people to flee their homes since September 23rd. This displacement surpasses the number of Lebanese displaced during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, when approximately 1 million people were forced to leave their homes, as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Hezbollah, on Saturday, claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a military base in Haifa, northern Israel, the day before. The group stated that its fighters targeted an explosives factory with a volley of missiles.
In a separate incident, Israel faced international condemnation for a strike that hit a United Nations peacekeeping position in Lebanon on Friday. The incident resulted in injuries to two Sri Lankan peacekeepers, marking the second such attack within two days. The UNIFIL mission condemned the attack.
