Four people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the state news agency NNA.
The strikes, which took place in the towns of Nabatiyeh and Bint Jbeil, came despite a US-mediated ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments on Wednesday.
The ceasefire is contingent on a “complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from an area of Lebanon south of the Litani River, according to a US State Department document outlining the conditions of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
But Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem rejected the truce, demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
As Israeli strikes and Hezbollah rocket fire continue, Israel’s military has warned residents of several villages north of the Litani River to evacuate, as well as of the coastal towns of Sarafand and Saksakiyeh.
Addressing residents of three villages, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X: “For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 metres into open areas.”
Lebanon’s NNA reported a “mass displacement” of people after the order was issued.
An estimated 1.24 million people across Lebanon are projected to face acute food insecurity this year, the International Rescue Committee said Wednesday, “with conditions expected to be particularly severe in the south and worsening with every evacuation order being issued.”
Despite Hezbollah’s rejection of the ceasefire, US President Donald Trump said Thursday that “progress has been made” in ending the fighting in Lebanon.
Hezbollah “called us and they said, ‘How about stopping?’” Trump said Thursday.
The president also said he talked about the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah.
