Israel renews evacuation orders for residents south of Lebanon’s Litani River

The Israeli army renewed its warning Tuesday for residents in southern Lebanon to evacuate areas south of the Litani River and move north, ahead of expected airstrikes, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

“Urgent warning to residents of southern Lebanon located south of the Litani River (…) strikes are ongoing and we are operating with significant force in the area,” the army said in a statement on the US social media company X.

The military urged residents in southern Lebanese areas to “immediately evacuate homes and move north of the Litani River,” warning that anyone remaining in the area would risk their lives.

The army also ordered immediate evacuation orders for residents in the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon ahead of attacks against what Tel Aviv described as Hezbollah infrastructure.

It called on residents of buildings marked in red on the attached maps, as well as nearby structures, to evacuate immediately and move at least 300 meters away.

The warnings come as Israeli forces attempt to advance on the ground in southern Lebanon amid cross-border attacks with Hezbollah.

Earlier Tuesday, Hezbollah said it confronted two attempts by Israeli forces to advance near the southern outskirts of the city of Khiam in southern Lebanon.

The group said its fighters engaged in “intense clashes with the advancing Israeli force in Khiam,” damaging two Merkava tanks, one of which was seen burning. Hezbollah added its fighters again targeted Israeli evacuation units with “appropriate weapons” as they attempted to retrieve crews of the damaged tanks.

In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli force with rockets as it attempted to infiltrate toward the border town of Houla.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said in another statement it targeted 30 facilities linked to Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association over the past week, alleging the organization helps finance Hezbollah activities.

The army said airstrikes Monday targeted “assets and cash storage facilities belonging to Al-Qard Al-Hassan,” claiming the funds are used by the group to purchase weapons, and pay Hezbollah fighters.

In recent days, Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes on facilities linked to the association at multiple locations across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut.

Israel and the US launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,200 people and injuring over 10,000 others. The conflict spilled over to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly airstrikes that have so far killed nearly 500 people and displaced thousands.