Israel has issued new refugee laws for southern Lebanon Story

The warning covers more than 10 villages and towns, including several in the Nabatieh district located north of the Litani River.

The Israeli army has issued a new order to evacuate people living in towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including areas beyond the settlements, despite a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

“To be safe, you must leave your homes immediately and leave villages and towns at a distance of 1,000 meters (0.6 miles) to an open area,” Israeli Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X Sunday.

The warning covers more than 10 villages and towns, including several in the Nabatieh region north of the Litani River, south of which Israel has deployed troops.

Lebanon’s National News Agency later reported several Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, including in unnamed towns.

Since April 17, a fragile agreement established by the United States has been underway between Israel and Lebanon, which was aimed at ending the violence between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.

On Wednesday, the head of the Israeli army, Eyal Zamir, threatened to attack Hezbollah “beyond the Yellow Line”, which shows part of Israel’s sovereignty.

“Any threat, anywhere, against our villages or our forces – including beyond the Yellow Line and north of Litani – will be removed,” he said during a visit to the Israeli army.

Last week, two soldiers and a military contractor were killed in airstrikes in the area and many soldiers were injured.

The US has called for peace talks between Lebanon and Israel, but Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that Israel must implement a complete ceasefire before the talks can take place.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, from Beirut, said the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which lasted from mid-April to mid-May, “exists in name only”.

“In the south, Israel has five divisions of its invasion forces, and they are bombing and demolishing buildings a lot,” he said.

“The most important thing about this morning’s evacuation order… is that three of the (towns) are accepting them for the first time. Some of them are north of the Litani river. This is not unusual in this conflict. Israel has done this before, but together, it shows that Israel’s area of ​​occupation continues to grow.”

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said at least 10 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the country on Saturday. The total number of people killed since the Israel-Hezbollah war rose on March 2 by 2,659, while 8,183 were wounded, it said.