The Israeli military has issued a caution to Lebanese civilians to leave villages that Hizbullah, a militia group, has allegedly weaponised, escalating Israel’s almost year-long struggle with the group towards full-scale warfare after a week of heightened tensions. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, confirmed this soon after Israel initiated what it described as a sequence of wide-ranging assaults throughout Lebanon. His proclamation indicated that Israel is primed for another wave of strikes.
Hagari, in a digital statement, revealed that over time, Hizbullah had hidden armaments, including cruise missiles, in residential and commercial properties across the south of Lebanon. He urged the population to keep their distance from these locations. A map from the Israeli military suggested 17 potential targets within Lebanese townships and villages, but did not specify which ones would be focused on.
Hagari warned, “You and your loved ones are being put at risk by Hizbullah.” When questioned about the likelihood of an Israeli ground assault on Lebanon, Hagari made assurances that no effort would be spared to enable residents of northern Israel, who had vacated their homes, to return safely.
The evacuation directive is the most recent effort by Israel to weaken Hizbullah, following covert operations the week before which damaged portions of Hizbullah’s communications infrastructure. In a rare event on Friday, a Beirut building, where top Hizbullah leaders had gathered, was destroyed in a strike.
The operations on Monday demonstrate that Hizbullah has not been dissuaded by previous attacks. In response, Hizbullah heightened its offensive by launching a missile hail on Sunday morning, impacting regions around 30 miles south of the Lebanese-Israeli border, marking their greatest penetrating assault since the war’s onset in October.
After Hamas launched an assault on Israel on October 7th, Hizbullah immediately began attacking Israeli forces, in what seemed like a display of solidarity for its Palestinian associate while avoiding instigation of a full-blown warfare on their end. The Israeli retaliation featured missile strikes and artillery attacks, which in turn led to the frequent trading of rockets and missiles, massive evacuations of about 150,000 citizens from either side of the territorial line, and severe destruction in border regions.
Hizbullah has consciously stayed away from escalating the skirmishes into an unrestricted terrestrial war, but has made it clear that its rocket attacks will not cease until a truce is announced in the Gaza Strip. However, as the likelihood of a ceasefire there is fading, Israel has been initiating more audacious offensives to coerce the organisation into distancing its struggle from that of Hamas.
In a speech given last Thursday, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbullah, committed to persist in the battle while the Gaza war exists. This has been reported by New York Times and Reuters.