Evacuations Ordered in South Lebanon Amid Intensified Israeli Airstrikes

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The Israeli military carried out heavy airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday after issuing evacuation orders for several locations, saying Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was trying to rebuild its military capabilities there.

The orders and strikes came despite a ceasefire deal agreed a year ago that was meant to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, and after months of Lebanese army efforts to clear Hezbollah sites in the south.

Giving a preliminary toll, the Lebanese health ministry said that one person was wounded in the afternoon bombing after one person was killed in strikes earlier in the day.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued three simultaneous evacuation orders on X at 3 pm local time on Thursday, with maps showing buildings in the villages of Aita al-Jabal, Al-Tayyiba and Tayr Debba. Two more orders came later for other towns in the south.

The sites in question were situated as close as 4 kilometers from the Israeli border, extending up to nearly 24 kilometers further north.

People survey destruction and rubble in an urban area, with a damaged white car and crumpled buildings in the background under an overcast sky.

Residents in Tayr Debba, a village in southern Lebanon, are assessing the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike that left a building in ruins. Source: AAP / Marwan Naamani / dpa / picture-alliance / Sipa USA

A wide shot shows a massive crater surrounded by rubble and debris in a residential area, with a person in dark clothing walking near the edge and houses visible on a distant hillside.

Authorities issued warnings advising residents to maintain a distance of 500 meters from these specific sites. The Lebanese state news agency reported that civil defense teams assisted in evacuating people from the area.

Although Israel frequently conducts strikes aimed at what it claims are Hezbollah military positions and personnel in southern Lebanon, such actions seldom come accompanied by evacuation directives.

The evacuation warnings coincided with a meeting of Lebanon’s cabinet to hear an update from army commander Rodolphe Haykal on progress in confiscating Hezbollah arms depots in south Lebanon.

The army has said it could clear all of southern Lebanon of arms outside of state control by the end of the year. Two senior Lebanese security officials told Reuters hours before the heavy strikes on Thursday that their troops were making swifter progress every month on disarmament.

The strikes on Thursday destroyed an ironworks business in the southern Lebanon town of Abbasiyeh.

“This shop was supporting five to six households, overall five to six homes,” said Ahmad al-Kayyal, who owned the business. “Brother, what does a blacksmith do? For heaven’s sake: chairs, tables, doors, windows, railings. What does he make? That’s the blacksmith’s job.”