Israel on Wednesday declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River, which runs roughly 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border, “combat zones” and urged residents to evacuate ahead of strikes against Hezbollah.
The first such sweeping warning since an April 17 ceasefire came as Israel’s military launched broad raids on the country’s south and east, and as Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces beyond an Israeli-declared “yellow line” in the south.
It also came as many Lebanese tried to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
“We advise the residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Zahrani River, as all areas south of the river are considered combat zones,” the Israeli military said on social media, warning it would act “with great force” against Hezbollah.
Israel this week vowed to intensify operations in Lebanon and said it was expanding ground operations there.
Talks are expected on Friday between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations at the Pentagon, as are a new round of direct negotiations next week aimed at ending the hostilities.
The Israeli military had earlier issued evacuation warnings for the southern city of Nabatieh, and swathes of the coastal city of Tyre and surrounding areas.
An AFP correspondent said residents from threatened Tyre areas had converged on parts of the city not covered by the warning. Authorities, however, warned that shelters were full and urged people to head to Beirut instead.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) later reported strikes on Tyre and its surroundings, as Israel’s army said it was attacking “Hezbollah command centres”.
NNA also reported a series of strikes on Nabatieh city, resulting in “huge destruction” in residential areas.
Lebanon’s army also said Wednesday that one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon.
Israel’s army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday that “we are intensifying our operations in order to strike ever more severe blows to the Hezbollah organisation”.
– ‘Yellow line’ –
The NNA reported Israeli strikes elsewhere in the country’s south and in the eastern Bekaa valley, with Israel’s military saying it was hitting “Hezbollah infrastructure sites”.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said its fighters “clashed with the enemy forces at point-blank range” in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, just beyond the Israeli-declared “yellow line” in south Lebanon where its troops have been operating.
An Israeli military official said Tuesday that soldiers had begun operating outside the “yellow line”, which runs around 10 kilometres deep inside Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah also claimed three drone attacks on Israeli positions near the two countries’ shared border in northern Israel.
Israel’s military said several explosive drones fell in its territory but no injuries were reported.
Lebanon’s health ministry on Wednesday raised the overall death toll since the war erupted on March 2 to 3,269, an increase of 56 from a day earlier following heavy Israeli strikes.
At the site of a strike in south Lebanon’s Burj al-Shemali, an AFP correspondent saw rescuers carrying a body bag from the rubble, which was littered with items including rugs and cushions.
The NNA, citing the mayor, said 15 people were killed in Tuesday’s strike.
– West Bekaa –
After Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Israel has repeatedly struck Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley and warned residents to evacuate.
Strikes have intensified in recent days, focusing on the West Bekaa town of Mashghara.
The area links south Lebanon with Hezbollah strongholds in the northern Bekaa and is a key supply route for the group.
Lebanese military expert Hassan Jouni told AFP that the West Bekaa “is a necessary corridor for Hezbollah members if they want to move between the Bekaa and the south” and could become the focus of further Israeli strikes.
He said Israeli operations might soon expand to “target the north Bekaa intensively or even Beirut’s southern suburbs”, both areas that have been relatively spared since the ceasefire.
A military delegation comprising six Lebanese officers, headed by the army’s director of operations Georges Rizkallah, will participate in the talks at the Pentagon on Friday.
A military source told AFP the delegation will “emphasise the need for a ceasefire, and will present the army’s plan for a state weapons monopoly and the extension of state authority across the country”.
