Israel launched a series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Friday, just hours after issuing evacuation orders to nine villages, including one that had become a refuge for thousands displaced by the three‑month conflict. Lebanon’s state news agency reported that six people were killed in the bombardment.
The warnings triggered a rapid exodus from the village of Anqoun and from Aarnaya, a small community bordering the largely Christian town of Maghdoucheh near the port city of Sidon. Anqoun had been sheltering roughly 2,500 people fleeing earlier fighting, according to the National News Agency.
The escalation came a day after Hezbollah rejected the latest ceasefire proposal negotiated between Israel and the Lebanese government, insisting that any agreement must include a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Since March 2, Israeli forces have taken control of large areas in the country’s south, a campaign that has widened regional tensions, complicated efforts to end the Iran war, and stalled attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has maintained that any durable truce must extend to Lebanon, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — heading toward elections later this year — has vowed to continue the offensive until Hezbollah is no longer a threat.
Roughly three hours after the evacuation alerts were issued by the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Israeli jets began striking the targeted villages, including Anqoun.
In a rare shift on Friday, UN peacekeepers and Lebanese army units were seen entering the village of Dibbine, near Marjayoun, after Israeli forces withdrew following fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters. It marked the first Israeli pullback from any area of southern Lebanon since the conflict reignited three months ago.
Along Dibbine’s entrance, scores of homes lay in ruins from the recent fighting and bombardment. Peacekeepers used a bulldozer to clear the main road into the village as Lebanese forces prepared to assume control of a designated security zone under the proposed ceasefire plan — territory from which Hezbollah fighters would be barred.
