Israel’s military said it has begun a “wave of strikes” in southern Lebanon, hours after it ordered all residents south of the Litani river to leave their homes immediately.
The major increase in operations comes a day after defence officials in Israel vowed to expand the fight against Hezbollah further into Lebanon.
Announcing the order, effectively evicting a large segment of the population, an Israeli military spokesman said: “Be aware that any movement south may endanger your life.”
Tens of thousands in south Lebanon have already fled from Israel’s widespread attacks and forced displacement orders, but seeking to empty the entire region south of the Litani is a major escalation. It mirrors a similar order by the Israeli military in 2024, at the peak of its previous all-out war with Hezbollah.
The order will affect 250,000 people, about 5 per cent of Lebanon's population, in more than 150 villages.
Some families are stuck in the south, unable to leave due to health reasons, or because they have nowhere else to go. Human Rights Watch said broad warnings could not be considered effective and “may instead improperly instil fear in the affected population”.
“It's a feeling you can understand only if you live it,” Abdel Hamid told The National, as he waited for hours in a long queue of cars on the motorway heading north.
The man, his wife and their six children spent three days sleeping in a public garden in the southern city of Tyre, after fleeing attacks on their village. They said they had nowhere to go.
Meanwhile, some residents of Christian-majority towns in the south told The National they refused to follow the displacement order because they do not consider themselves to be part of the conflict involving Hezbollah and Israel.
“It’s true that most of the town’s residents are staying in their homes and holding their ground because they reject wars and are remaining neutral,” a resident of the Christian-majority town of Qlayaa told The National.
Israel was under simultaneous missile strikes from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon, sending millions into bomb shelters across the country.
No injuries have been reported, but the concurrent strikes have raised fears that Iran and Hezbollah might be capable of a high degree of co-ordination, challenging Israel’s air defence.
Israel’s police said they were handling “several” impact sites in the Tel Aviv area following the barrage.
Expanding strikes
Israel also carried out several deadly strikes across Lebanon in the early hours of Wednesday, hitting beyond Hezbollah’s traditional areas for the first time since the start of the current conflict.
The wave of attacks marked a widening of Israel’s assault, which had been largely confined to Shiite-majority areas, including Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as eastern and southern Lebanon.
One overnight strike hit the Comfort Hotel in Baabda, south-east of Beirut, less than 1km from the presidential palace. It is the first time a predominantly Christian neighbourhood has been struck.
Displaced people were staying at the hotel and initial casualty figures were not available. Videos showed extensive damage, with the hotel’s mangled sign lying on the ground.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry had earlier said Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Aramoun, a village in the Aley district of Mount Lebanon, and in Saadiyat, in the Chouf district, killed six people and wounded eight.
Both locations are south of Beirut and are not traditional Hezbollah areas.
Meanwhile, there was an overnight strike on a four-storey residential building in the eastern city of Baalbek. The attack killed at least six people and wounded 15. Rescue teams said two people were missing.
Israel also carried out extensive air strikes across Beirut's southern suburbs at dawn on Wednesday morning, targeting several neighbourhoods in the normally densely packed area.
Multiple explosions were heard from the Haret Hreik area throughout the morning, including near a building complex where Hezbollah hosts major memorial events.
Another Israeli air strike hit Laylaki following an eviction warning. Other attacks struck the neighbourhoods of Hadath and Jamous.
Hezbollah has banned journalists from entering the southern suburb, citing safety fears.
Israeli soldiers are also expanding their positions and area of operations in the south. Troops have entered part of the key border town of Khiam and bombed the area extensively on Wednesday.
The soldiers have taken up position near a former detention centre in Khiam, which was operated by the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army during the 1975-1990 civil war.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli military said it had bombed more than 100 targets in the past 24 hours alone.
The health ministry said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 50 people and wounded 335, including civilians, in the latest escalation.
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday condemned the killing of three paramedics in earlier Israeli strikes. Six others were injured as they helped people wounded by explosions in the southern Tyre district.
Hezbollah joined the war on Monday against the US and Israel in support of Iran, its ally, to avenge the killing of the country's supreme leader.
The Lebanese government responded by banning Hezbollah's military activities, although how it could enforce the decision remains unclear.
Hezbollah has carried out more than a dozen attacks on Israeli forces since Monday and has declared it is in an open war. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced yet again, and the conflict has escalated.
The group had not fired rockets into Israeli territory since November 2024, when a ceasefire ended 14 months of conflict between the two enemies, despite near-daily Israeli violations of the truce.
Thomas Helm contributed to this report from Jerusalem
