The Israeli military ordered the full evacuation of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, ahead of strikes targeting Hezbollah.
Predominantly Shia and long considered a traditional Hezbollah stronghold, the city has been targeted in previous Israeli conflicts, most notably during the 2006 war © Mena Today
The Israeli military ordered the full evacuation of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, ahead of strikes targeting Hezbollah.
Residents were instructed to move "north of the Zahrani River," according to a post on X by Arabic-language military spokesman Avichay Adraee.
It is the first time Israel has issued an evacuation order covering the entirety of Nabatiyeh, a significant escalation signal.
Nabatieh is one of southern Lebanon's major urban centres, located approximately 60 kilometres south of Beirut and around 40 kilometres from the Israeli border.
The capital of the Nabatieh governorate, it is home to around 100,000 residents and serves as a key economic, administrative and commercial hub for the region.
Predominantly Shia and long considered a traditional Hezbollah stronghold, the city has been targeted in previous Israeli conflicts, most notably during the 2006 war.
Tuesday's order to evacuate the entire city marks a new threshold in Israel's military campaign in southern Lebanon.
Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday while Lebanese authorities said Israeli retaliatory attacks killed at least one person, a flare-up in violence that coincided with the latest round of talks between the two countries.
The Israeli military said it had begun targeted strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday in response to a "Hezbollah violation", a day after the latest round of U.S.-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon took place in Rome.
The latest round of U.S.-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon began on Tuesday in Rome and will continue through Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
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