Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the evacuation order was issued in response to what Israel described as repeated Hezbollah violations of the truce agreement that took effect in mid-April.“In light of the terrorist Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is compelled to act against it forcefully,” Adraee said in a statement posted on X.Residents were instructed to leave their homes and move at least 1,000 meters away from the affected villages into open areas for their safety, the statement said.

The warning came as fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group continued to intensify across southern Lebanon, with both sides exchanging fire almost daily despite the ceasefire arrangement.Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military said it had targeted more than 85 Hezbollah infrastructure sites over the previous 24 hours through aerial and ground operations.

According to the military, the strikes hit weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and structures allegedly used by Hezbollah to conduct attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.Israel also said it struck an underground Hezbollah weapons production facility in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley and targeted militants accused of conducting operations against Israeli troops deployed in southern Lebanon.

On Friday, Hezbollah announced missile and drone attacks against Israeli military bases in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and continued attacks in southern Lebanon.Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes killed 11 people in southern Lebanon on Friday.

The latest escalation underscores the fragility of the ceasefire reached earlier this year after months of cross-border clashes that expanded alongside the broader regional conflict involving Israel, Iran and allied armed groups.

Israel and Lebanon remain formally at war, although indirect diplomatic efforts backed by international mediators have sought to prevent wider regional escalation.

Hadja Lahbib said after talks with Joseph Aoun in Beirut that more than three million people across Lebanon currently depend on aid.“At present, more than three million people, meaning more than half of the population here in Lebanon, depend on humanitarian aid to survive,” Lahbib told reporters.

The comments underscore the growing humanitarian toll of the conflict that erupted on March 2 between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, displacing more than one million people and placing severe strain on Lebanon’s already fragile economy and public services.

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli strikes since early March have killed more than 2,700 people. Israel has continued military operations in Lebanon despite a ceasefire aimed at halting the two-month war.

Lahbib said the European Union had allocated 100 million euros ($108 million) in assistance since the start of the conflict and dispatched six humanitarian aid flights to Lebanon, with another expected on Saturday.

The United Nations launched an emergency appeal in March seeking $308 million for humanitarian operations in Lebanon. U.N. agencies say only $126 million has been secured so far, leaving critical funding gaps for food, shelter and medical assistance.

Lahbib described the ceasefire as “a narrow window of hope” but said a sustainable peace would require action from both sides.She called on Hezbollah to halt attacks and disarm, while urging Israel to end its bombardment campaign.

“For a ceasefire to lead to peace, courage is needed political courage to address the root causes of this conflict,” Lahbib said.Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting are continuing, with Israel and Lebanon expected to hold a third round of talks in Washington next week despite Hezbollah’s opposition to direct negotiations with Israel.

The Lebanon Civil Defense said in a statement that one of its rescuers was killed after an Israeli strike targeted him on a road connecting two towns in southern Lebanon.The organization said the attack occurred despite a truce that remains formally in effect between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The incident came one day after another strike killed a rescuer affiliated with the Islamic Health Committee, according to Lebanese authorities.Israel has continued carrying out strikes across parts of Lebanon following weeks of conflict that began on March 2, saying its operations target Hezbollah fighters and military infrastructure.

On May 6, Israeli forces struck Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in nearly a month, killing what Israel described as a senior Hezbollah commander from the group’s elite Radwan force.The continuing attacks have intensified concerns among humanitarian agencies over the safety of medical and rescue personnel operating in conflict zones.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week that the World Health Organization had verified 152 attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel in Lebanon since the conflict began.According to Tedros, those attacks resulted in 103 deaths and 241 injuries.International humanitarian law provides special protections for medical workers, emergency responders and healthcare infrastructure during armed conflicts.

Rights organizations have repeatedly called for investigations into attacks involving rescue and medical personnel in Lebanon and Gaza.

The Israeli military said it had begun targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in the Bekaa region as well as in southern Lebanon, while security sources told Reuters that strikes hit near the town of Nabi Chit, close to Lebanon’s border with Syria.

No immediate fatalities were reported.The strikes marked the first attacks on the Bekaa Valley since the ceasefire came into force, significantly reducing but not ending the exchange of fire between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group.

Israel has continued near-daily strikes across southern Lebanon and maintains troops in a strip of territory along the border, where it says operations are aimed at dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure and preventing further attacks.

Lebanon’s state news agency reported multiple Israeli strikes in southern areas on Monday that wounded at least three people.Hezbollah said it had attacked an Israeli tank in southern Lebanon using a drone.

The Israeli military later confirmed that a Hezbollah drone exploded near its troops in southern Lebanon but said no casualties were reported.The ceasefire followed weeks of intense fighting that escalated after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2 in support of its ally Iran, prompting a broad Israeli ground and air campaign across Lebanon.

Since then, more than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon, with large parts of the south heavily damaged and thousands displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

The conflict has deepened political divisions inside Lebanon, particularly over Hezbollah’s independent military role and the prospect of diplomatic engagement with Israel.

Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States have held two rounds of discussions related to the ceasefire framework, which is intended to create conditions for possible direct negotiations aimed at securing a broader peace arrangement between the longtime adversaries.

Hezbollah has strongly rejected such talks.Its leader, Naim Qassem, said on Monday that direct negotiations with Israel would amount to a “humiliating and unnecessary concession,” dismissing any outcomes from such discussions as irrelevant to the group.

“Let it be clear, these direct negotiations and their outcomes are considered nonexistent to us and do not concern us at all,” Qassem said in a written statement. “We will continue our defensive resistance for Lebanon and its people.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended the government’s decision to pursue face-to-face talks and appeared to criticize Hezbollah’s unilateral decision to enter the regional conflict without broad national agreement.

“What we are doing is not treason; rather, treason is committed by whoever takes his country to war to achieve external interests,” Aoun said in a statement released by his office, without naming Hezbollah directly.

“Some hold us accountable for deciding to go to negotiations on the pretext of the lack of national consensus, and I ask: When you went to war, did you first obtain national consensus?” he said.

The remarks underscored widening internal tensions over Lebanon’s security policy as the government seeks to balance domestic political divisions, ongoing Israeli military pressure and international efforts to prevent a broader regional escalation.