Israel warns civilians as air strikes pound Lebanon

Israel’s military has warned civilians to avoid Hezbollah positions as it pounds southern Lebanon, while it was reported that phone warnings have been received across the country.

The Israeli army reported on Monday that its warplanes had launched more than 100 strikes in the south and east of Lebanon and warned of further action against the Iran-backed armed group, which launched a barrage of missiles into northern Israel the previous day.

The intensification of the fighting across the shared border, which has seen low-level skirmishes since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October, follows last week’s explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies which killed dozens in Lebanon. The increased hostilities further raise fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, or even a wider regional conflagration.

In the early hours of Monday, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the army had conducted “extensive strikes” against Hezbollah posts after identifying attempts to fire missiles. Israel’s government recently declared that it was shifting more focus to the fighting with Hezbollah in a bid to allow the 60,000 or so Israelis evacuated from the border areas to return.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called on the public to remain calm as the military broadened its assault.

“We are deepening our attacks in Lebanon, the actions will continue until we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes,” Gallant said in a video published by his office on Monday. “These are days in which the Israeli public will have to show composure.”

Hagari warned residents in southern Lebanon to leave areas in which the armed group has positions. Civilians in the area received calls with the same message.

“We advise civilians from Lebanese villages located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately move out of harm’s way for their own safety,” Hagari told journalists.

Asked by a reporter whether the army was planning a ground invasion into the neighbouring country, Hagari said “we will do everything necessary to return the residents of the north to their homes safely.”