BEIRUT — The Israeli military on Wednesday told residents across southern Lebanon to leave as it expands its operations there, saying in a statement that the military will “work with extreme force” against Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
The warning - which fell on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha - came a day after Israeli troops clashed with the Iran-backed Hezbollah along a strategic river in southern Lebanon, with Israeli forces pushing farther north, days ahead of talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli delegations.
Wednesday’s warning is the first that orders the Lebanese to relocate from the south since a ceasefire went into effect on April 17 and follows an escalation in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israeli troops have crossed the Litani River, edging closer to the southern city of Nabatiyeh. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has also intensified in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqieh, along the strategic river. Israel has not struck Beirut or areas near the capital since the truce started.
The war started on March 2 after Hezbollah fired rockets towards northern Israel in solidarity with Iran. Over one million people in Lebanon have since been displaced, and over 3,200 people killed in Israeli strikes according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Many displaced people are sleeping in public schools that have turned into makeshift shelters or in tents pitched in encampments across the Lebanese capital.
Earlier, the Israeli military had called on the residents of Nabatiyeh and the city of Tyre along the Mediterranean coast to leave and stay away, saying there were Hezbollah members and military posts there.
PHOTOS: Israel's military tells residents across southern Lebanon to leave as it fights Hezbollah
Roads have been jam-packed with cars fleeing Tyre and surrounding neighborhoods heading north, seeking shelter. Strikes in the southwestern region have intensified in recent days.
Those who have nowhere to go are staying in the city, said Moussa Nasrallah of Lebanon’s Civil Defense. He and other first-responders have been helping move the elderly and others living further out in the province to the city.
At least four Israeli strikes hit near Tyre since the warning was announced, Nasrallah said. The Israeli military said it has been targeting what it called “command centers” belonging to Hezbollah without giving further details.
“We can’t use our vehicles to evacuate people out of the area and not be available for the wounded,” Nasrallah told The Associated Press, fearing his colleagues would be stuck in the traffic, and unable to return to the front lines to help civilians.
Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for several attacks on both Israeli troops in Lebanon and northern Israeli border villages.
Also, amid a surge in Hezbollah attacks with exploding drones, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli military will expand the scope of its attacks against Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it has struck 550 targets since the beginning of the week, a significant increase in the number of attacks.
Hezbollah has vowed to fight until the war ends in Lebanon and Israel withdraws its troops that operate across large swaths of the country’s south. The Iran-backed group has dismissed Lebanon’s direct talks with Israel and has backed Iran’s talks with Washington to their war. Among Tehran’s conditions is ending the war in Lebanon as well.
Israel’s widened attacks in recent days have struck areas in eastern Lebanon along the Bekaa Valley, near the border with Syria. On Tuesday, Israel struck near the Qaraoun Dam, Lebanon’s largest, on the Litani River.
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