Beirut, Lebanon – The Israeli army issued urgent evacuation orders on Saturday for residents of 20 towns and villages deep inside and south of Lebanon. Citizens were instructed to leave their homes and head immediately to the north of the Awali River. This comes in preparation for launching large-scale military operations, including air and ground attacks, against what it described as Hezbollah targets in those areas.
List of towns and villages included in the Israeli warning
According to the official statement issued by the Israeli army spokesperson, the Lebanese towns and villages subject to immediate evacuation orders cover a wide geographical area stretching between the Nabatieh district, the Jezzine region, and the Iqlim al-Tuffah region. These include: Deir Zahrani, Al-Namiriya, Al-Sharqiya, Al-Duwayr, Harouf, Haboush, Kfar Jouz, Zibdine (Nabatieh), Nabatieh al-Tahta, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kfar Rumman, Al-Mahmoudiya, Sajd (Jezzine), Rihan, Aramta, Kfarhouna, Mlikh, Al-Luwayza (Jezzine), Jarjouh, and Arab Salim.
Warnings against staying and the dangers of vehicles being targeted
The Israeli army warned local residents in its statement against being near Hezbollah operatives, facilities, or weapons. It asserted that anyone remaining in those villages was putting their life at constant risk. The statement also emphasized that any movement of vehicles southward could subject them to direct fire as military targets.
Mass displacement waves and a worsening humanitarian crisis
These rapid developments on the ground come amid an unprecedented military escalation on the Lebanese front. Repeated evacuation warnings have triggered widespread waves of displacement of Lebanese families toward safer areas in Sidon, Beirut, and Mount Lebanon, creating extremely complex humanitarian conditions in the overcrowded shelters housing the displaced.
Official Lebanese condemnation and calls for international intervention
For its part, the Lebanese authorities condemned these ongoing threats and the Israeli policy. They described the forced eviction orders as part of a systematic policy of displacement and the destruction of infrastructure and towns in southern Lebanon. They also reiterated their call for the international community and UN organizations to intervene immediately to pressure Tel Aviv to halt the escalation and compel it to abide by relevant international resolutions to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe from worsening.
