Israeli army calls for evacuation of several areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut

The Israeli army called Thursday night for the evacuation of four areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut in anticipation of imminent strikes on what it described as Hezbollah facilities.

"For your safety and that of your families, you are required to immediately evacuate these buildings" within a radius of at least 300 meters, wrote Colonel Avichai Adraee, spokesperson for the Israeli army for the Arabic-speaking public, in a message on Telegram accompanied by maps showing several buildings in the neighborhoods of Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Bourj al-Barajneh.

In a separate statement, the Israeli army announced that it would "soon carry out a strike on underground drone production sites that have been deliberately established in the heart of the civilian population" in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

"These activities constitute a blatant violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon," the army added, referring to the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that came into effect at the end of November following mediation by Washington and Paris.

That cease-fire brought an end to more than a year of hostilities, including two months of open warfare between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which emerged significantly weakened from its engagement in support of Hamas in the war that began when Hamas launched an attack from Gaza on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hezbollah opened a front on Oct. 8 by firing rockets from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out regular strikes across Lebanon against what it describes as Hezbollah targets or fighters, claiming to do so with U.S. backing.