The Israeli military on Saturday ordered the residents of nine villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate amid retaliatory operations against the Hezbollah militia.
"For your own safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move at least 1,000 metres away from the villages and towns into open terrain," an army spokesman said in a statement in Arabic posted on X.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), there is a risk to life for anyone staying near Hezbollah fighters and the group's bases and weapons depots.
The IDF justified the evacuation order by citing the violation of a current ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah.
Israel "is compelled to act forcefully against" this, the statement added, stressing that the army had no intention of harming civilians.
It was not immediately possible to independently verify the claims.
The current ceasefire agreement allows Israel to take defensive measures against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks, but prohibits offensive operations on Lebanese territory.
The parties to the conflict accuse each other of violating the agreement.
The IDF said earlier it struck 85 Hezbollah targets in the previous 24 hours in response to threats against Israeli civilians and soldiers in southern Lebanon. These included weapons depots, launch pads and other military infrastructure.
