Beirut, Lebanon. The Israeli military on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of a swathe of southern Lebanon, instructing residents to move north of the Litani River as hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah entered a third day.
Evacuation order expanded
Israel has already warned residents to leave dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, and Wednesday’s evacuation order was the broadest yet.
Israeli military operations
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he had authorised the military to advance and take control of additional positions in Lebanon, where Israeli troops have held several hilltops since a war with Hezbollah in 2024.
Casualties and displacement
Israeli strikes have killed dozens of people in Lebanon since Monday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Many thousands of Lebanese have already fled their homes.
Conflict expansion and reported strikes
The war in the Middle East spread to Lebanon on Monday, when Hezbollah opened fire, saying it aimed to avenge the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
An Israeli airstrike hit a four-storey building in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbeck on Wednesday, killing six people and wounding another 15, the Lebanese state National News Agency reported, adding that rescue workers were still searching for missing people.
Hezbollah attacks and Israeli target claims
Hezbollah announced several attacks on Wednesday, including one using what it described as a precision-guided missile that it said was fired at a military facility in northern Israel.
Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin said the Israeli military had attacked more than 250 Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon over a 48-hour period.
How will the evacuation order affect your understanding of the conflict’s impact on civilians?