Israel army orders evacuation of area in southern Lebanon

Residents of Deir Zahrani in southern Lebanon were told to leave a specific area before Israeli strikes targeting what the army described as a Hezbollah facility. The warning followed what Israel said was the launch of an explosive drone toward its forces.

In a message in Arabic, the Israeli army said, "Hezbollah's terrorist activity compels the IDF to act forcefully against it." It did not say whether any Israeli soldiers had been wounded. The army warned that people who stayed in the area would be at risk.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar television later reported Israeli airstrikes on Deir Zahrani. Earlier, Israel had issued its first evacuation notice in Lebanon in a month, telling residents near a building in Arab Salim that it called a Hezbollah facility to leave before an attack.

The latest warning came as Lebanon remained caught up in the wider Middle East war. Hezbollah attacked Israel in March in support of Iran, prompting Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion that Beirut said had killed more than 4,300 people.

Violence has fallen since a US-Iran memorandum of understanding on the wider regional conflict in June and an Israel-Lebanon framework agreement later that month. Israeli forces continue to operate inside a self-declared security zone extending about 10km into Lebanon along the border. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has urged the United States and the international community to help stop the Israeli attacks.

“

Hezbollah's terrorist activity compels the IDF to act forcefully against it.