The Israeli military urgently warned residents of more than 20 southern Lebanese towns and villages to immediately evacuate their homes.
Israel Defense Forces 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 that “Hezbollah’s activities force the IDF to act against it forcefully,” and that the IDF would let them know when it was safe to return home.
The Israeli military’s latest warnings increased the number of southern Lebanese towns urged to evacuate to 70.
The IDF released a 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 that 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.
Early Friday morning, Israel’s military ordered residents to evacuate areas around two buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs and to stay at least 500 meters away.
The Israeli military warned it would soon target the sites. One area includes the Sainte Therese Hospital.
Early Friday, at least one Israeli strike hit outside the perimeter of Beirut’s international airport, Reuters reported, citing a source in Lebanon’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Friday that 37 people had been killed in Israeli strikes over the past day. An additional 151 people were injured, the ministry said.
