The Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings on Monday for more than 20 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, signaling a worsening conflict with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite ongoing efforts to establish a cease-fire.
The evacuation warnings, the first in nearly a month, were communicated through social media, urging civilians to leave their homes and move north of the Awali River, which serves as a boundary for southern Lebanon. This area has been impacted by Israeli military operations aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure and preventing rocket fire into Israel.
The current hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated significantly last year, following cross-border attacks by Hezbollah in support of Hamas during the Gaza conflict. The ongoing violence has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, with nearly 3,200 fatalities reported and over 20% of the Lebanese population displaced.
Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, indicated on Monday that renewed U.S.-brokered diplomatic efforts were in motion to address the conflict. “There is progress,” he stated at a news conference, emphasizing that the challenge ahead would be enforcing any agreements reached.
On the Hezbollah side, the media office head, Mohammed Afif, mentioned that no formal cease-fire proposals had been received but acknowledged ongoing discussions involving key global players such as Washington, Moscow, and Tehran since the recent re-election of Donald Trump.
“Nothing official has reached Lebanon or us,” Afif remarked during a news conference in the Dahiya district of Beirut, where Hezbollah holds significant influence.