Israel orders south Lebanon evacuations after alleging Hezbollah fire
The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of firing three projectiles toward northern Israel and told residents of 29 Lebanese locations to move north.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
The Israeli military accused Hezbollah on Sunday of firing three projectiles toward northern Israel, calling it a ceasefire breach as Israel widened orders for civilians to leave parts of southern Lebanon. The move matters because it came as Iran said Lebanon was included in a proposed understanding with the United States aimed at ending the regional war.
Israel has continued to strike Lebanon while saying it is responding to Hezbollah missiles and drones, Al Jazeera reported. Iran has said a proposed memorandum of understanding with Washington would include Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.
Orders covered 29 locations
Israeli warnings issued Sunday covered 29 locations in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported, including 25 in Nabatieh district and four in Sidon district. Residents in those areas were told to leave immediately and move north of the Zahrani River.
An Israeli military spokesperson said the orders included Jbaa, Houmin al-Tahta, Ansar and Kfar Sir, according to Al Jazeera. Soon after the announcement, Al Jazeera correspondents reported that an Israeli air strike hit Froun, a town in the Bint Jbeil district.
Al Jazeera correspondent Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, said attention had again turned to Nabatieh in the south. Pett said the city had been heavily hit by Israeli air strikes in recent weeks and that one of the few hospitals still operating in southern Lebanon was located there.
Pett also said people in Lebanon were worried about the implications of any Iran-US deal. She said that after the United States and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire in April, more than 350 people were killed in Lebanon on the deadliest day of the war there.
According to Pett, Israel said at that time that Lebanon was outside the agreement and then hit more than 100 locations in Lebanon within 10 minutes. Pett said the concern in Lebanon is that Israel may again say it is not bound by any deal and will not withdraw.
Israeli ministers press for escalation
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir repeated calls for heavier attacks on Hezbollah on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. Ben-Gvir said Israel should fire a missile for every drone sent from Lebanon by Hezbollah and called for the killing of “a thousand” Hezbollah fighters for “every hair on the head” of an Israeli soldier harmed.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut, after two drones entered Israeli territory, according to Al Jazeera. Israel National News quoted Smotrich as saying the fire toward northern communities was a test of what he called the “Dahiyeh equation” announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Smotrich called on Netanyahu to act “with determination and force” and to bring down more buildings in Dahiyeh on Sunday, Israel National News reported. He said Israel had promised security to residents of the north and had to deliver it.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.