Israel Issues New Evacuation Order In Lebanon

Israel has issued a large-scale evacuation order for all Lebanese civilians living south of the Zahrani River, declaring the entire zone a combat area as it expands ground operations against Hezbollah deep into Lebanese territory.

The order came as Israeli forces simultaneously raised the flag over the medieval fortress of Beaufort in southern Lebanon, a site with historical significance.

“Residents of southern Lebanon, you must move immediately to north of the Zahrani,” the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on social media on Sunday, warning that anyone found near Hezbollah elements, facilities or combat means was endangering their life and that any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes could be targeted.

The Zahrani River runs east to west about 40 kilometres north of Israel’s border with Lebanon, and the Lebanese territory south of it covers about 2,000 square kilometres, making Sunday’s order the most expansive evacuation warning issued since the April ceasefire, extending well beyond the Litani River line that Israel had previously used as its benchmark.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that troops had captured Beaufort Castle, a strategic medieval strongpoint commanding sweeping views of south Lebanon, saying “forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War, our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the escalation, accusing Israel of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment” and calling for an immediate ceasefire, while the Israeli military confirmed that one of its soldiers had been killed in a Hezbollah drone strike the previous day.

The evacuation orders now cover more than 1,470 square kilometres, roughly 14 percent of Lebanon’s entire territory, affecting more than 100 towns and villages and displacing approximately 18 percent of the country’s population since the campaign began.