BEIRUT: Israel on Saturday ordered more evacuations in southern Lebanon and targeted new locations, including the previously unstruck town of Deir Billa, as a fifth UN peacekeeper was shot and wounded in the ongoing Israeli attacks.
The military’s actions come amid ongoing clashes with Hezbollah, resulting in casualties and further displacement of civilians.
On Saturday, at least five people were killed and 15 others injured in Israeli strikes in various areas of northern Lebanon, according to security and civil defense sources. The latest military directive instructed residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages to evacuate to regions north of the Awali River, which serves as a boundary separating the southern region from the northern parts of the country.
This evacuation order follows a series of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon that have already left many areas nearly deserted.
The situation has also taken a toll on international peacekeeping forces, with a fifth UN peacekeeper wounded in the ongoing Israeli strikes.
On Friday, a member of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was struck by gunfire, undergoing surgery for a bullet wound but is now reported to be stable. This incident adds to the significant damage suffered by UNIFIL’s positions due to nearby Israeli shelling.
Since the conflict reignited a year ago, Israeli military operations have intensified across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The Lebanese government estimates that approximately 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes since September 23.
The ongoing violence has resulted in a mounting death toll, with the Lebanese Health Ministry reporting that at least 2,255 persons have been killed since the outbreak of conflict. The current humanitarian crisis has surpassed the scale of displacement seen during the last major conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, which displaced around 1 million people.
