Israel has ordered residents of 29 locations in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, citing a ceasefire violation by Hezbollah after three projectiles were launched toward northern Israel. The displacement warnings, issued on Sunday, applied to 25 towns in the Nabatieh district and four in the Sidon district, including Jbaa, Houmin al-Tahta, Ansar and Kfar Sir, with civilians told to move north of the Zahrani River. The Israeli military stated the strikes were in response to incoming missiles and drones from Hezbollah. Shortly after the announcement, an Israeli airstrike hit the town of Froun in the Bint Jbeil district, according to Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.
Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, noted that Nabatieh, once a bustling city, now hosts one of the few functioning hospitals in southern Lebanon and has been heavily damaged by repeated air raids. The escalation follows a US-Iran announcement of a proposed memorandum of understanding to end regional hostilities, which Iran insists must include Lebanon. However, Israel maintains that Lebanon is not part of any agreement. Pett recalled that after a US-Iran ceasefire was declared in April, Israel launched over 100 strikes in Lebanon within 10 minutes, killing more than 350 people—the war's deadliest day.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for retaliatory missile fire for every drone launched from Lebanon and advocated killing "a thousand" Hezbollah fighters for any harm to Israeli soldiers. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged immediate attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut, referencing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "Dahiyeh equation." Smotrich emphasized the need to deliver on security promises to northern Israeli communities.
The situation remains tense as civilians flee targeted areas and regional diplomacy appears increasingly disconnected from ground realities.
Israel issued mass displacement orders while launching new strikes, even as Iran claimed Lebanon was included in a US-brokered ceasefire deal—yet Israel explicitly rejected that inclusion. The same pattern repeated in April when over 100 sites were hit in Lebanon minutes after a truce announcement, killing more than 350. Israeli ministers are now calling for escalated retaliation, including mass killings and urban destruction, based on real-time cross-border attacks. These actions suggest the conflict is being shaped less by diplomacy than by military ultimatums on the ground.
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