Israel Expands Combat Zone in Southern Lebanon, Orders Mass Evacuation North of Zahrani River
BEIRUT, May 27 (Reuters) — Israel's military on Wednesday declared a fresh swathe of southern Lebanon an official combat zone and urged residents to move north, warning it would strike “with great force” against Hezbollah targets in the area. The announcement, posted on X, appeared to mark an escalation after more than 120 airstrikes pounded southern and eastern Lebanon on Tuesday — despite the ceasefire that took effect on April 16.
“We advise residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Zahrani River, as all areas south of the river are considered a combat zone,” an Israeli military spokesperson wrote on X.
The Zahrani River runs east to west roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border, and the territory south of it spans about 2,000 square kilometers. The military had previously ordered evacuations below the Litani River, further south, and had issued individual warnings in dozens of towns between the Litani and the Zahrani. Wednesday's order was the first to cover the entire zone south of the Zahrani.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel must take further action in Lebanon to protect communities in northern Israel from Hezbollah attacks. The military urged civilians to stay away from Hezbollah operatives, facilities and weapons sites.
Lebanese security sources told Reuters that residents were already fleeing north toward the port city of Sidon, which is hosting tens of thousands of displaced people from other parts of southern Lebanon. The evacuation order came as Muslims across Lebanon were celebrating Eid al-Adha, compounding the hardship for families.
Since March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in support of its ally Iran, more than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders, according to local authorities. The health ministry reports more than 3,200 people killed across the south, east and Beirut. Fighting has continued despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in April; the World Health Organization says at least 608 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since that truce.
The Israeli military says 10 of its soldiers have died since the April 16 ceasefire, six of them by Hezbollah explosive drones. Ground operations have been extended beyond a security zone Israel occupies, though officials refused to specify how far beyond the so-called Yellow Line they have advanced.
Beirut has been spared new airstrikes, but surveillance drones buzz overhead daily and warplanes were heard low over the capital on Wednesday, according to Reuters reporters. Three senior Israeli officials said Israel believes it has freedom of action in southern Lebanon but exercises more restraint in Beirut. The officials told Reuters that Israel does not want to be seen as disrupting U.S. President Donald Trump's potential deal with Iran by bombing buildings in the Lebanese capital.
The latest evacuation order underscores the widening humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations warning that displacement and infrastructure damage are reaching critical levels. Diplomatic efforts to revive the ceasefire have stalled as both sides continue to exchange fire, raising fears of an even broader regional conflict.
(Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly, Menna Alaa El Din, Maya Gebeily, Emily Rose and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)