Israel extends evacuation warnings in Lebanon, signaling a wider offensive

Israeli military warns of expanding ground operation in Lebanon against Hezbollah, causing mass displacement and casualties.

The Israeli military on Thursday (October 3, 2024) warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a U.N.-declared buffer zone, signaling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.

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Meanwhile, Israeli forces said they had struck around 200 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts. Strikes continued overnight when a series of massive blasts rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs. It was not immediately clear what was targeted or if there were casualties.

The fighting has driven nearly 1.2 million people from their homes in Lebanon, the country's crisis unit said Thursday.

At least nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week. The fighting comes as the region braces for Israel's response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack.

The World Health Organization reported that 28 health workers were killed in the past day in Lebanon, and access to medical care is becoming limited as three dozen health facilities closed in the south and five hospitals were either partly or fully evacuated in Beirut.

The Lebanese Health Minister said Israeli strikes that hit nine hospitals and 45 health care centers violate international law and treaties.