JERUSALEM/Xinhua
The Israeli army continued its advance into Lebanon on Friday, calling up another brigade for combat and urging residents of 23 villages and towns to flee north.
“For their own safety, they must evacuate their homes immediately and move north of the Awali River,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on the X social network. The Awali River, which flows nearby The city of Sidon in southern Lebanon is located dozens of kilometers north of most of the towns and cities on the evacuation list.
“Anyone near Hezbollah elements, facilities or weapons is putting their life in danger,” Adraee warned, adding that any civilian moving south could risk being killed by Israeli forces.
Late Friday afternoon, the IDF announced in a statement that it is calling up an additional reserve brigade after an “assessment of the situation.”
The troops will be assigned to “operational missions on the northern front” to “enable the continuation of combat efforts against Hezbollah,” the IDF said.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops continued their offensive in southern Lebanon today. According to the IDF, four militants were killed in a combined airstrike and ground attack aimed at destroying an “underground command center” belonging to Hezbollah.
During the operation, “dozens of weapons depots, several tunnels and other infrastructure” were destroyed, he said.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on the attack.
Since September 23, the Israeli military has been carrying out intense airstrikes and what it called a “limited” ground operation in Lebanon amid an escalation with Hezbollah.
According to Lebanese authorities, the clash between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which began on October 8, 2023, has killed more than 2,300 people, injured more than 11,000, and displaced around 1.2 million residents. in Lebanon.
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