The Israeli military has urged residents of two dozen villages in southwest Lebanon, located within 18 miles (30 kilometres) of the border, to move about 31 miles further into the country.
“You must immediately move to the north of the Al-Awali River. Save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” the Israel Defense Forces Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said Wednesday.
Where is the Awali river? The Awali River is north of the city of Sidon, and just south of Beirut. The total land mass south of the river represents a quarter of Lebanese territory. The affected villages are primarily located in the southwestern region of the country and around the main city of Tyre.
The warnings come a day after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 27 villages on Tuesday. Wednesday’s warning expands the evacuation notice further to the west within southern Lebanon.
The spokesperson repeated earlier calls for residents not to travel “using vehicles” north of the Litani River towards southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Iran insisted it has “absolutely no interest in a broader war,” hours after it fired dozens of missiles at Israel in response to the assassinations of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told reporters on Wednesday that Israel is responsible for the regional escalation and that Tehran is acting in self-defence.
Iran “restrained” itself after the assassination of Haniyeh “despite demands” from its people to respond, Mohajerani said, “because it was interested in peace in Gaza.” Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in July in an attack widely believed to have been carried out by Israel.
The spokeswoman said Israel “fueled this atmosphere,” but added that “we will never allow an inch of our soil or the dignity of Iran to be stained.”
Iran fired 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. Many were intercepted, the Israeli military said, although some hit the ground in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
CNN
