The Israeli army issues a new evacuation call for the Lebanese region of Baalbek

The Israeli army on Sunday called for the evacuation of the Baalbek area in eastern Lebanon and warned it was ready to attack Hezbollah targets there and in nearby Douris.

The latest evacuation call came as the army’s Home Front Command activated sirens at regular intervals along the border, while identifying dozens of projectiles reaching Israeli territory from Lebanon since Sunday morning.

The army said its forces continued to carry out “targeted attacks” in southern Lebanon aimed at eliminating Hezbollah fighters.

“You are currently in close proximity to facilities and assets associated with Hezbollah, which the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will target in the near future,” Israeli army Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement. message on X addressed to residents of Baalbek and Douris.

The Israeli Air Force intercepted several projectiles fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory, while some fell in open areas, the army said in a statement.

On Thursday, rocket fire from Lebanon killed seven people in the city of Metula in northern Israel, including four Thai farmers.

The army said its forces carried out targeted attacks in southern Lebanon, and on Saturday night found “numerous weapons” stored in a building in southern Lebanon.

“The troops continue to encounter terrorists during close quarters combat in complex terrain and eliminate them using precision ordnance guided by IAF (Air Force) aircraft and supported by field soldiers,” the army said in a statement on Sunday. .

Israel and the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah have been engaged in a deadly war since September 23 that has killed more than 1,900 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese Health Ministry figures.

The Israeli army says 38 soldiers have been killed in the campaign in Lebanon since ground operations began on September 30.

Clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters first broke out on October 8 last year, when the Lebanese group began firing rockets into Israel in support of ally Hamas, a day after the Palestinian group launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza .

Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s sweeping military response against Hamas has led to the deaths of 43,341 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.