Israel told residents south of the Zahrani River to move north and declared the area a combat zone as it widened operations in southern Lebanon, according to Reuters and AP.
Israeli forces warned residents in a wider swathe of southern Lebanon to leave on Wednesday, declaring areas south of the Zahrani River a combat zone as operations against Hezbollah expanded.
AP first reported that the Israeli military told residents across southern Lebanon to leave. Reuters later reported that Israel had declared the area south of the Zahrani River a combat zone and instructed residents to move north.
The warning marks a fresh escalation in fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border, where Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire and Israel has increasingly widened its military activity in southern Lebanon.
UN peacekeepers have previously said Israeli evacuation demands and related actions in southern Lebanon violate Lebanon's sovereignty and the ceasefire framework.
The immediate question is how far the expanded operation will go and whether Lebanese authorities or Hezbollah respond in a way that changes the situation on the ground.
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Initial automated publication.