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Israel carried out airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Saturday shortly after ordering residents of 20 locations, including the city of Nabatieh, to evacuate north of the Zahrani River, according to Lebanese state media.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli aircraft struck several areas covered by the warning, including the villages of Rihan and Sujud near Nabatieh.
The Israeli military told residents to “evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Zahrani River,” about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.
Israel declared all territory south of the river a “combat zone” last month and has continued striking the area.
The NNA also reported explosions and artillery fire late Friday near the Ali Taher hills overlooking Nabatieh.
Hezbollah said Friday that its fighters confronted Israeli forces advancing toward the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Zoun.
The Iran-backed group has continued attacking Israeli troops involved in the ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since early March, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with a large-scale air campaign and a ground invasion.
Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah has observed the ceasefire first announced in April.
A conditional truce announced this month after a fourth round of direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in Washington has also failed to stop the fighting.
Hezbollah has rejected both the direct negotiations and the conditional agreement.
The deal requires Hezbollah to halt its attacks but does not mention a similar requirement for Israel or an Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon.
Iran has said Lebanon must be included in any agreement to end the broader Middle East war.
A senior U.S. official said Friday that a peace agreement with Iran “includes Lebanon.”
Lebanese leaders, however, have accused Tehran of treating their country as a “bargaining chip.”
Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said Saturday that Lebanon should benefit from any agreement ending the Iran war that also includes Lebanon.
“We want the Lebanese state to negotiate for itself, and nobody is suggesting forfeiting this role,” Fayyad said.
“However, the state must abandon the policy of being crushed in the face of the Israelis and submission to the Americans.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Saturday that the country faced a “fateful test.”
“Either its people unite around a sovereign state that monopolizes weapons, upholds the law and protects citizens irrespective of their affiliation or position, or it remains hostage to the logic of militias,” Aoun said in a statement on X.
His comments came as fighting continued in southern Lebanon despite repeated ceasefire announcements and political efforts to negotiate a broader settlement.
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