Israel issues forced evacuation orders for southern Lebanon in escalation
Israel has issued new forced evacuation notices for areas of southern Lebanon, ordering residents of seven towns beyond its so-called “buffer zone” to leave, escalating the conflict with Hezbollah despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
An Israeli army spokesperson said in a statement published on X on Sunday that the Lebanese armed group was violating the ceasefire and that Israel would act against it, telling residents to head north and west.
The towns lie north of the Litani River, in an area where Israeli troops have continued military operations despite the ceasefire. They are outside what Israel has declared a “buffer zone,” an area stretching about 10 km (6 miles) north of the border in southern Lebanon where Israeli forces remain.
Hezbollah has rejected allegations that it is undermining the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, saying its continued attacks are a “legitimate response to the enemy’s persistent ceasefire violations”, which it says have exceeded 500 incidents.
The Iran-aligned group said in a statement on Telegram on Sunday that it should not be tied to a ceasefire it did not approve of because it had “no say or position,” adding that the group would not “bet on failed diplomacy that has proven ineffective.”
“It must be understood that Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, a dismantling of the ceasefire,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a weekly cabinet meeting.
The U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which began April 16 and was extended until mid-May, resulted in a significant reduction in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, although the two sides continued to fire at each other, trading blame for violations.
Al Jazeera Tyre correspondent Heidi Pett said on Sunday “there have been multiple airstrikes in southern Lebanon”, with many people fleeing to the cities of Sidon and Tyre.
“Once again, thousands of people are leaving their homes, joining the hundreds of thousands already displaced before,” she said.
A displaced man, who fled his home after an Israeli evacuation order, sits at a university turned shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, April 13, 2026. [Aziz Taher/Reuters]
Hezbollah said it attacked Israeli troops inside Lebanon as well as relief forces who came to evacuate them, targeting a newly established Israeli artillery position in the town of Biyyada with a swarm of drones.
He also claimed responsibility for two drone attacks on a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the town of Taybeh, saying casualties were reported among Israeli forces, without giving further details.
“Israel’s Security”
The Israeli army said a 19-year-old soldier, Sergeant Idan Fooks, was killed “during combat” in southern Lebanon, while five others were injured.
“From our point of view, what obliges us is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, the security of our communities,” Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, per the Reuters news agency.
Under the terms of the truce, Israel reserves the right to respond to “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks” and strikes almost daily what it considers Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it struck “Hezbollah military infrastructure sites used to advance attacks,” in an article on X.
Since the resumption of war between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, at least 2,509 people have been killed and 7,755 injured by Israeli attacks, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
