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The Israeli military ordered all residents south of Lebanon's Litani River to immediately evacuate on Wednesday, warning it was "compelled to take military action" against Hezbollah in the area, as Israeli forces entered the southern Lebanese town of Khiam and expanded airstrikes to the outskirts of Beirut's presidential palace.
"Residents of southern Lebanon—you must move immediately to areas north of the Litani River," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.
"For your own protection, you must vacate your homes immediately. Anyone located near Hezbollah operatives, facilities, or weapons is putting their life at risk," Adraee said, adding that "any building or home utilized by Hezbollah for military purposes is a legitimate target and may be engaged."
The military also issued specific evacuation warnings for 13 towns and villages in southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning, following a similar warning for 16 other southern towns the day before.
Lebanese state media reported that Israeli forces entered the town of Khiam, approximately six kilometers from the Lebanon-Israel border.
"The town of Khiam is witnessing continuous artillery shelling, while the Israeli enemy army penetrated into the town," state media said.
A Lebanese military source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday that Israel had launched a ground incursion into a border area in southern Lebanon in parallel with its campaign of airstrikes.
Lebanese authorities recorded the displacement of more than 58,000 people from areas targeted by strikes since Monday.
A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency said 30,000 Lebanese had registered at collective shelters, while many more slept in their cars along roadsides.
Israel expanded its airstrikes across Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting the area around the presidential palace near Beirut and Hezbollah strongholds in the capital's southern suburbs, killing at least 11 people in the latest round.
An airstrike hit a hotel in Hazmieh, the first reported Israeli attack on the predominantly Christian area in Beirut's suburbs near the presidential palace and several embassies. Some rooms were gutted, while wounded people received treatment in the lobby.
People fled through debris, carrying suitcases past the Comfort Hotel's sign, which had fallen, broken, to the ground. It was not possible to determine who was targeted.
In Aramoun and Saadiyat, south of Beirut, two towns outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds, Israeli strikes killed six people and wounded eight others, the health ministry said, cautioning that this was a preliminary toll.
Strikes also targeted a four-story building in Baalbek in Lebanon's east, far from the border, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. Five people were killed, 15 were wounded, and three remain missing, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. One side of the building collapsed, with rescue workers searching through rubble for survivors.
Israeli warplanes conducted at least three strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs in less than an hour on Wednesday, targeting buildings in Haret Hreik, Hadath and the Liqi neighborhood.
Israel also struck southern Lebanon's Mahmoudiyeh, Suwairi and Arzoun Shahhour, as well as Shamstar and Buwadi in the eastern Baalbek region. Cluster munitions were used in an attack on Jdeydeh Marjayoun in the Nabatiyeh district, according to reports.
Since Monday, Israeli strikes have killed at least 50 people and wounded 335 in Lebanon before Wednesday's overnight strikes, the health ministry said.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said three paramedics were killed and six injured "while recovering people injured by explosions" in Lebanon's southern Tyre district.
"Warring parties must abide by international humanitarian law and protect health workers, facilities and patients," he said.
Lebanon was drawn into the broader Middle East war on Monday when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during U.S.-Israeli strikes over the weekend.
The Israeli military has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until the Lebanese group disarms.
The United States and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Saturday, killing Khamenei and nearly 800 people. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting U.S. assets.
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