Israel issues evacuation warning for Lebanese civilians as it launches ‘extensive’ attacks

The Israeli military on Monday warned civilians in southern Lebanon to stay away from Hezbollah positions as it intensifies its attacks on the neighboring country.

“Israeli forces will soon launch large-scale, precise strikes against terror targets scattered throughout Lebanon,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement early Monday.

The warning is the first of its kind by the Israeli military in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told NBC News, adding that the current campaign consists exclusively of air strikes.

Israel, the official said, wants to create safe conditions for the return of its own citizens to the north of the country and destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, a powerful militia and political organization, has been trading fire with the Israeli military since Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on October 7 that killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250.

According to local health authorities, more than 41,000 people, most of them civilians, have died in the war that followed in the Gaza Strip. Around 100 hostages are believed to still be held there, and even the ceasefire talks have failed to put an end to the violence.

In his video message, Hagari said Israel had already begun attacking Hezbollah targets across the country.

He said the Iran-backed militia was preparing to attack Israel after heavy exchanges of fire on the Israel-Hezbollah border over the weekend.

The video statement also featured a map of 19 towns and villages, most of them in southern Lebanon, which he said Hezbollah had used to “militarize” civilian infrastructure.

Israel has advised “civilians from Lebanese villages located in and near buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes” to evacuate immediately, he said. “Get out of the danger zone immediately. Hezbollah is putting you and your families in danger,” he said.

Hagari did not mention whether all the cities mentioned in his statement would be attacked.

According to the Lebanese state media National News Agency, Israel launched more than 80 air strikes this morning.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which reached a new peak last week when a surprise Israeli operation caused pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members to explode.

A rare airstrike on Friday killed at least 45 people, including senior Hezbollah members and dozens of civilians, in a densely populated suburb of Beirut.

The militia responded with its own wave of attacks, firing dozens of rockets at Israel. It was one of the heaviest attacks since the war began.

Although many of the 150 rockets, cruise missiles and drones fired by Hezbollah were intercepted by Israeli air defenses, there were “a small number of hits and intercept debris that fell on” Israeli territory, the Israeli army said on Sunday.

The Israeli military is also investigating reports that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in an Israeli airstrike, an Israeli official told NBC News. At this point, Israel does not have enough evidence to confirm or rule out his death, the official said.

Suspicions that Sinwar may have been killed are based on Israeli intelligence that he had not communicated with the outside world for several weeks, the official said, but there is no clear evidence of his death.

The news was first reported by Axios.

Raf Sanchez reported from Tel Aviv, Israel and Mithil Aggarwal reported from Hong Kong.