More than 3,000 people have been killed since hostilities resumed in March, and Monday's strikes in southern Lebanon extended that toll. Israel carried out air and drone strikes that killed at least three people and issued fresh forced-displacement orders for villages in the Nabatieh area, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. The Israeli military said the operations were retaliation for what it called Hezbollah breaches of a US-mediated ceasefire, and Colonel Avichay Adraee urged civilians to move at least 1,000 metres to open areas. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said drones hovered over the capital for a second day, while Lebanon's president reiterated that any Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory is non-negotiable ahead of talks in Washington, DC.

The strikes on Monday hit vehicles on the Kafr Rumman-Jarmaq highway and the Jarmaq-Khardali road early in the day, and later struck homes and towns in Tyre and other southern districts, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. The NNA said three people were killed when Israeli drones targeted the highway in the Nabatieh area. In Tyre, the NNA reported two homes were destroyed in the Arzoun municipality and that rescue teams were evacuating wounded civilians.

Strikes and displacement orders

Later on Monday the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for residents of 10 villages, naming Nabatieh al-Tahta, al-Louizeh, Sajd, Ain Qana, Harouf, Zibdin, Kfar Reman, Doueir, Adshit al-Shaqif and Maydun among those affected. The military posted an Arabic-language message from Colonel Avichay Adraee saying Israeli forces "are compelled to operate against it with force" and urging civilians in those villages to evacuate immediately and move at least 1,000 metres to open areas. The wording signals that more population movements are expected.

The new orders come on top of a pattern of successive evacuation directives that began at the outset of the campaign in March. Hours after Hezbollah launched rockets on March 2, the Israeli military ordered more than 100 border villages to evacuate, then extended no-go zones northward toward the Litani and Zahrani rivers. Background reporting cited by The Guardian mapped those successive no-go zones and said forced evacuations eventually covered a big portion of southern Lebanon. Those measures, combined with repeated strikes, forced hundreds of thousands, and by some counts more than a million, to flee their homes; many remain displaced and many towns and houses lie in ruins.

Humanitarian toll and rescue challenges

Lebanese health authorities and state media report heavy civilian tolls during the campaign that later resumed on March 2. The Ministry of Public Health has said more than 3,000 people have been killed since hostilities resumed. On the Israeli side, the military said one soldier was killed and another wounded in southern Lebanon in recent fighting that included a reported Hezbollah drone attack. Israeli casualty tallies since March 2 include 23 soldiers and one civilian contractor.

Mastheads

Humanitarian responders have repeatedly reported that rescue personnel and medical facilities have been hit. The NNA and hospital officials described strikes that impeded search-and-rescue work and caused damage near Hiram Hospital in Tyre, forcing evacuation of patients.

Local rescue teams have said they came under fire while carrying out evacuations, and earlier reporting has flagged the tactic known as a double tap, in which an initial strike is followed by a second hit that can strike rescuers.

International and regional monitors, and the media, have documented repeated evacuation orders and strikes that drove mass displacement in the south. The campaign has included Israeli claims of targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, and at times alleged members of Iran's Quds Force inside Lebanon. These exchanges continued even after a US-mediated ceasefire took effect on April 17, and Monday's strikes were framed by the Israeli military as retaliation for what it called breaches of that ceasefire.

Reporting from Beirut by Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr described "nonstop buzzing of Israeli drones over central Beirut and the capital's southern suburbs" for a second consecutive day, underlining how the military posture has extended beyond immediate border areas. Lebanese hospitals and emergency services say those overflights and strikes hinder their ability to reach wounded civilians and move patients to safety.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun reiterated on Monday that Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory is "non-negotiable," remarks issued days before another round of talks in Washington, DC between Lebanese and international interlocutors. The comment frames the diplomatic angle of an otherwise tactical exchange, suggesting political stakes will be part of the agenda in the upcoming discussions.

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Lebanon and international interlocutors are due to hold another round of talks in Washington, DC in the days ahead, even as fresh evacuation orders and continued drone flights point to further population movements and growing civilian risk on the ground.

This article was created with AI assistance.