Israel calls for evacuation of places Hezbollah stores arms amid new strikes

The Israeli military has called on people in Lebanon to immediately evacuate homes and other buildings where the Hezbollah militant group stores weapons.

The warning on Monday came as Israel launched another wave of strikes in southern Lebanon.

It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of low-level conflict along the border and came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire on Sunday, when Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into a wider and deeper area of northern Israel than it had struck previously.

The move was in retaliation over recent Israeli strikes that killed a top commander of Hezbollah and dozens of its fighters.

Residents of different villages in southern Lebanon posted photos on social media of their hometowns that were being struck. The state-run National News Agency also reported air strikes on different areas.

The Israeli military’s Arab-language spokesperson said Israel’s air force was attacking Hezbollah targets in different parts of the country.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the strikes hit the central province of Byblos for the first time since the exchanges began in October. Israel also bombed targets in the north-eastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, where a shepherd was killed and two family members were wounded, according to the news agency. It said a total of 17 people were injured in the strikes.

A military official said Israel is focused on aerial operations and has no immediate plans for a ground operation. The official said the strikes are aimed at curbing Hezbollah’s ability to launch more strikes into Israel.

An Israeli air strike on a Beirut suburb on Friday killed a top Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen Hezbollah members, as well as dozens of civilians, including women and children.

Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000.

Lebanon blamed Israel for the attacks, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility.

The escalating strikes and counter-strikes have raised fears of an all-out war, even as Israel is still battling the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza and trying to return scores of hostages taken in the October 7 attack.

Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group.

An Israeli military official said Israel is focused on aerial operations and has no immediate plans for a ground operation. with the strikes aimed at curbing Hezbollah’s ability to launch more attacks on Israel.

Lebanese media reported that residents received text messages urging them to move away from any building where Hezbollah stores arms until further notice.

“If you are in a building housing weapons for Hezbollah, move away from the village until further notice,” the Arabic message reads, according to Lebanese media.

It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the Israeli orders. Communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied out because of the near-daily exchanges of fire.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of transforming entire communities in the south into militant bases, with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure. That could lead it to wage an especially heavy bombing campaign, even if no ground forces move in.