The Israeli military urgently warned residents of more than 20 southern Lebanese towns and villages Thursday to immediately evacuate their homes and move to the north to get out of harm's way as Israel continues its ground campaign against Hezbollah.
On his account on the social media platform X, IDF Arabic spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Avichay Adraee advised residents to move north of the Awali River to “save your lives.” He warned any southward movement would put them in danger.
He said, “Hezbollah's activities force the IDF to act against it forcefully,” and said the IDF would let them know when it is safe to return home.
The IDF released video of what it said were troops operating in southern Lebanon. The army’s 6th Brigade is currently in southern Lebanon, “conducting targeted raids to thwart and destroy the terrorist infrastructure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” it said in a statement.
The IDF also said Thursday Israeli fighter jets, in a strike Wednesday, killed Hezbollah commander Khader Al-Shahabiya. The statement said Khader was responsible for the July rocket attack that hit a soccer field in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan heights that killed 12 children.
Lebanese health officials said Thursday an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in Beirut, killing at least six people and wounding seven others.
Iran attacks Israel
Tensions have dramatically escalated in the region since late Tuesday, when Iran unleashed an unprecedented barrage of around 200 ballistic missiles aimed at Israel.
Iran conducted the attack on the eve of the Jewish New Year in retaliation for a series of Israeli attacks on its proxies, including the assassinations of Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and the head of Lebanese Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Tehran "will pay" for the attack, and his security Cabinet met late Tuesday to discuss possible retaliation. Some reports have suggested Israel may strike at Iran’s oil refineries or even its nuclear sites.
Thursday as he left the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden was asked if the U.S. would allow Israel to retaliate and what the U.S. plans were in that regard.
Biden said, “First of all, we don’t allow Israel, we advise Israel. And there’s nothing going to happen today. We’ll talk about that later.”
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said Wednesday Tehran would have a strong response to any Israeli retaliation.
Speaking in Qatar, during a joint news conference with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Pezeshkian said Iran is not in pursuit of war with Israel but cited the airstrike on Tehran during his inauguration that killed Haniyeh as an Israeli provocation. He said he continues to advocate for peace.
Israel has never officially taken responsibility for the strike that killed Haniyah.
Israel announced Wednesday the death of eight of its soldiers who were killed in fighting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, a day after it started what it says is a “limited” ground operation to destroy militant infrastructure there.
UN Security Council meets
In New York, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the worsening situation.
“The raging fires in the Middle East are fast becoming an inferno,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council.
He reiterated his calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a cessation of fighting in Lebanon.
VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara and VOA reporter Natasha Mozgovaya contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
