The Israeli military on Wednesday issued an evacuation warning for residents of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre and nearby villages, urging them to move north of the Zahrani River, about 25 kilometres away, ahead of planned military operations against Hezbollah.
The call, posted in Arabic on X by an Israeli military spokesman and urging nearly all residents to evacuate, marked the first such broad evacuation warning since a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was declared in April and has since been extended twice.
Despite the agreement, hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia have continued almost daily. Hezbollah is not a party to the ceasefire and has refused to enter negotiations with Israel.
The Israeli military is currently issuing instructions of this kind frequently ahead of attacks, but they usually affect villages. A Christian district in Tyre has reportedly been excluded from the warning.
Residents told dpa that panic spread through the city, with many initially fleeing toward the coast to avoid potential strikes.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Israeli military is permitted to take defensive action against imminent or ongoing attacks, but offensive operations on Lebanese territory are prohibited.
Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violations.
The Lebanese army, which is not involved in the conflict, said one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the report.
Lebanese media report that 20 soldiers have been killed in Israeli attacks since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated again in early March.
At least 31 people were killed and 40 others injured in heavy Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, authorities said on Wednesday, after Israel warned it was intensifying operations on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the casualties resulted from strikes carried out on Tuesday.
