Israel orders evacuation of 23 southern Lebanese villages, asks residents not to return homes

Israel on Saturday ordered evacuation of 23 southern Lebanese villages located north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.

In a message addressed to south Lebanese, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X: "For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice... Do not go south; anyone who goes south may put his life at risk."

The Israeli military in its order has mentioned villages in southern Lebanon that have been recent targets of Israeli attacks.

Evacuations were necessary for the safety of residents due to increased Hezbollah activities, the Israeli military said.

It also claimed that the group is using sites to conceal weapons and launch attacks on Israel.

However, Hezbollah has denied concealing its weapons among civilians.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted a year ago when the Iranian-backed group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war, has dramatically escalated over the past month.

According to the Lebanese government, due to intensified Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut, approximately 1.2 million people were forced to leave their homes since September 23.

More Lebanese have now been displaced than during the last major war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, when around 1 million fled their homes, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Saturday.

Hezbollah said on Saturday it launched a drone attack on a military base in north Israel's Haifa a day earlier.

In a statement the group said its fighters were "targeting the explosives factory there with a salvo of... missiles".

On Friday, Israel faced severe diplomatic backlash over what it said was a "hit" on a United Nations peacekeeping position in Lebanon.

Two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were hurt in the second such incident in two days, the UNIFIL mission said on Friday.