Israel established a new military zone Monday along its border with Lebanon — issuing evacuation orders to its citizens similar to those given before its previous ground incursions into its neighboring enemy.
The Israel Defense Force said that along with a wide stretch of southern Lebanon, its expanded closed military zone now also covers the Israeli communities of Rosh Hanikra, Shlomi, Hanita, Adamit, and Arab al-Aramshe, where civilians are prohibited from entering.
The new zone was established based on intelligence the military received during its ground operations in Lebanon last week to take out Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure there, Israeli officials said.
Monday’s order was the fourth time the IDF imposed a closed military zone along the border as its fight with the terror group in Lebanon continues to escalate nearly a year after Hezbollah began firing at Israel on Oct. 8.
Along with creating the new military zone, Israeli forces also called on civilians to flee several neighborhoods in Beirut ahead of airstrikes aimed at Hezbollah bases.
The IDF specifically flagged two buildings in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, with the subsequent strikes in the area reportedly destroying Hezbollah command centers, according to the Israeli military.
Israeli officials say the goal of the airstrikes and boots-on-the-ground operations is aimed at decimating Hezbollah’s weapon depots and missile launching facilities, which would put an end to the daily attacks fired over the border.
The US State Department said Israel’s ground operations in Lebanon remain “limited,” with spokesman Matthew Miller telling reporters Monday that the operations comply with humanitarian law and are conducted in a way to minimize civilian casualties.
The Biden administration has said it backs Israel’s right to defend itself from the Iran-supported terror group, but US officials have stressed that its ally’s operation must not cause further escalation in the region.
The Israeli operation in Lebanon comes as Hamas, Hezbollah and apparent Houthi terrorists all fired attacks on Israel on Monday during the one-year anniversary of the brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
Hezbollah fired more than 130 missiles at the Jewish state by the afternoon, with two “Fadi 1” rockets hitting Haifa and injuring 10 people. according to the IDF.
It was the first direct attack on the northern city, which had previously managed to evade the Iran-backed terror group’s daily strikes.
With Post wires
