Israel’s military has carried out fresh air strikes on southern Lebanon, targeting what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure amid rising tensions along the border.
Social media videos from the southern Lebanese city of Tyre showed crowds gathered around collapsed buildings and smoke rising from damaged areas after the strikes.
The Israeli Defense Forces had earlier issued evacuation warnings for residents living south of the Zahrani River, approximately 40 kilometres from the Israeli border.
In the warning issued on Wednesday, the IDF urged civilians to move north of the river, stating that Israeli forces would act “with extreme force” against Hezbollah positions. The military accused Hezbollah of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement.
Hezbollah, however, accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire and said its fighters engaged Israeli troops in clashes on Wednesday.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, two separate waves of Israeli strikes hit Tyre on Thursday morning, causing a fire in one building and targeting areas east of the city.
The evacuation order covering areas south of the Zahrani River marked the largest displacement directive since the ceasefire came into effect on April 17, affecting nearly 14 per cent of Lebanese territory.
The latest escalation followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of an expansion of ground operations after Hezbollah drone attacks targeted Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and civilians in northern Israel.
Residents of Tyre described scenes of panic as air strikes followed shortly after the evacuation warning.
A resident identified as Rida, whose home and café near the beach were previously destroyed in an air strike before last month’s ceasefire, said many people had fled to the city’s port area.
“People packed up their stuff. Everyone is scared,” he said.
The wider evacuation zone covers about 300 towns and villages, leaving many displaced residents uncertain about where to seek shelter.
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Lebanon, Agnes Dhur, warned that the humanitarian situation in southern Lebanon was approaching a dangerous point.
“Ongoing hostilities create conditions that are untenable for civilians and risk long-term consequences,” she said.
Aid workers and officials stated that Sidon, a coastal city south of Beirut, could no longer absorb the increasing number of displaced families. Civilians have been advised to relocate further east to the Beqaa Valley and Mount Lebanon.
Lebanese media also reported additional Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley, with at least four people killed in the towns of Choukine and Nabatieh.
Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops “at point-blank range” in Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, a town north of the Litani River and outside the Israeli-declared buffer zone.
Israeli officials maintain that Hezbollah attacks violate the temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, while Lebanese authorities argue that Israeli strikes themselves breach the truce.
The renewed violence threatens ongoing diplomatic efforts involving the United States, Israel, and Iran aimed at ending the broader regional conflict.
Lebanon became directly involved in the conflict on March 2 after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following an Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader. Israel responded with an extensive air campaign and ground operations in Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 3,213 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict began, although the figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel says 23 soldiers and four civilians have been killed on both sides of the border during the same period.
