Israeli military expands ground operations in Lebanon, warns Nabatieh residents to evacuate

The Israeli military issued an unprecedented evacuation warning to residents of Nabatieh, a city in southern Lebanon, on Tuesday, signaling an impending escalation of strikes. The warning urged immediate evacuation north of the Zahrani River, emphasizing the danger to anyone near Hezbollah facilities or personnel.

Hezbollah responded by announcing that its fighters repelled an Israeli ground force that had advanced toward Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, a town overlooking Nabatieh. The group reported engaging Israeli soldiers following airstrikes and heavy artillery fire, utilizing drones in the confrontation.

“

For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or military equipment is putting their life at risk!

This development follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's order to "intensify attacks" on Hezbollah, aiming to "crush" the group. The Israeli military reported bombing over 100 Hezbollah targets overnight. The conflict, which began on March 2, has seen relentless strikes on Nabatieh, despite an earlier April 17 truce. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency also reported Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, including in Tyre and Mashghara.

Netanyahu stated his intention to "increase our firepower, and we will crush them," while acknowledging Hezbollah's use of drones and assuring that countermeasures were being developed. Israel maintains it is targeting Hezbollah, while the group claims responsibility for attacks on Israeli positions. According to Lebanon's health ministry, over 3,100 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since the conflict began.

“

It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fibre-optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures and we will solve this issue... We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.