BEIRUT — Hezbollah has warned Israelis to stay away from Israeli military sites in residential areas in the north of the country.
In a statement published in Hebrew and Arabic on Friday night, Hezbollah stated that the Israeli military has bases in neighborhoods of cities like Haifa, Tiberias and Acre.
The group warned Israelis against "being near these military gatherings in order to preserve their lives."
“This signals an expansion of the displacement zone for Israel from 5 km to over 30 km,” Al-Jazeera journalist Ali Hashem, who is covering the war between Hezbollah and Israel, from along the southern border, wrote on X Saturday.
Hezbollah’s operations room statement, warning residents of Haifa and several other northern cities up to Tiberias to evacuate homes near military installations, signals an expansion of the displacement zone for Israel from 5 km to over 30 km. This could force Israeli Prime…
— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@alihashem_tv) October 12, 2024
Hezbollah did not respond to L'Orient Today's requests for further comment on the matter. The Israeli Army has repeatedly issued warnings for residents of southern Lebanon urging them to leave southern towns and move north of the Litani River or the Awali river “for their safety."
“What’s particularly significant here is that despite Israel’s ground operations or a possible invasion of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah still maintains the ability to maneuver, carrying out attacks both at the border and further into Israel’s center and northern regions,” Hashem wrote.
According to political science faculty at Lebanese American University (LAU) Imad Salamey, the expansion of the displacement zone strongly suggests that Hezbollah is "preparing to deploy new weapons or more advanced tactics that could reach deeper into Israeli territory." This may include "longer-range missiles, precision-guided weapons, or drones capable of striking further distances than previously seen."
Israel announced on Tuesday that it had expanded its ground offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon after deploying additional troops. Hezbollah has repeatedly said that the Israeli army had so far "failed to enter the impregnable villages" of the South and would continue to counter all incursion attempts.
"Such a statement serves both as a tactical warning and a psychological tool, signaling that the conflict is entering a new phase where Hezbollah is prepared to escalate beyond previous boundaries," added Salamey.
Around 1.5 million people have been displaced in Lebanon since fighting broke out between Hezbollah and Israel and further escalated on Sept. 23. Over the past year, at least 2,141 people have been killed in Lebanon, with nearly 10,099 others injured, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.