The Israeli military on Monday morning warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate from villages where Hezbollah was storing weapons, bringing Israel’s 11-month conflict with the militia closer to all-out war after a week of escalation.
The military said it planned more intense bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds, and the announcement came shortly after Israel had already begun what it said was a new round of “extensive strikes” across Lebanon.
The military published a map showing 19 villages and towns in southern Lebanon, but it did not say which of them, if any, would be targeted or evacuated.
Asked if the announcement indicated an imminent ground invasion, Admiral Hagari said in a brief phone call: “We are currently focusing on Israel’s aerial campaign only.”
The evacuation order was Israel’s latest attempt to break Hezbollah, following clandestine operations last week that destroyed parts of the militia’s communications networks, as well as a rare strike on Beirut on Friday that destroyed a building where senior Hezbollah commanders were holding a meeting.
The new strikes on Monday reflected the failure of those attacks to force Hezbollah to back down, at least for the time being
