April 26 - Israel's armed forces issued a fresh evacuation directive on Sunday for seven towns in southern Lebanon that lie outside the so-called "buffer zone" it occupied prior to a ceasefire, telling residents to move north and west away from those communities.
A military spokesperson, in a statement posted on X, said the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire and that Israel would take action in response. The order applied to towns situated north of the Litani River and beyond the area in southern Lebanon where Israeli troops have been based. Israeli forces have continued military operations in the region despite the ceasefire arrangement.
At a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the government's priorities, saying: "From our perspective, what obliges us is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, the security of our communities." He added: "We act vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and also, by the way, with Lebanon."
Hezbollah, for its part, said it would not stop attacking Israeli troops inside Lebanon or targeting towns in northern Israel so long as Israel continued what the group described as "ceasefire violations." In a statement, the Iran-backed organisation said it would not wait for diplomacy that had been "proven ineffective" nor depend on Lebanese authorities that it said had "failed to protect the country."
The Israeli military also reported intercepting three drones before they crossed into Israeli territory, after warning sirens sounded in northern Israel.
Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah said it had struck Israeli troops located inside Lebanon as well as a rescue force that had arrived to evacuate those troops. Both sides have continued to exchange fire since a U.S.-mediated ceasefire began on April 16 and was extended to mid-May. The ceasefire has led to a marked reduction in the overall level of hostilities, but breaches have occurred and both parties trade blame for violations.
The latest available figures from Lebanon's health ministry, released earlier this month, report that more than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the most recent round of conflict began on March 2, which followed U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. The ministry's totals include 274 women, 177 children and 100 medics, and do not distinguish between militants and civilians. Hezbollah has not released an overall count for its fighters but has held group funerals in which dozens of its fighters have been buried in recent days.
Casualties reported by Israel include two civilians killed by Hezbollah attacks inside Israel and 15 Israeli soldiers who have died in Lebanon since March 2, according to Israeli authorities.
The evacuation orders, the intercepted drones and the continued exchange of fire underline the fragility of the ceasefire environment and the immediate security concerns that have driven both military movements and civilian displacement in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.