Israeli army issues evacuation order for Yanouh immediately after Lebanese Army, UNIFIL inspection

BEIRUT — Hours after the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL carried out an inspection on Saturday of a house in the village of Yanouh (Sour district) — the first such inspection in southern Lebanon in the context of Hezbollah’s disarmament — the Israeli army issued an evacuation order, announcing an imminent strike on the same house.

The inspection was conducted at the request of the cease-fire monitoring “mechanism” committee and marked the first time a private residence was searched in southern Lebanon as part of efforts to disarm Hezbollah. No weapons were found during the search. However, the operation sparked tensions between UNIFIL personnel and local residents.

Hours later, the Israeli army issued an “urgent alert” to residents of southern Lebanon, “particularly the village of Yanouh,” announcing an imminent attack.

According to our correspondent, after the initial inspection and as the joint force was preparing to leave, an Israeli drone hovered over the site and UNIFIL received a second request to conduct another search. This angered the property owner, who, along with other individuals, attempted to forcibly push UNIFIL personnel away and prevent them from re-entering the house.

Despite the altercation, the house was searched a second time and, according to local residents, no weapons were found. Members of the committee then withdrew, bringing the incident to an end.

“The Defense Forces will soon strike military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, in order to counter the party’s illegal attempts to resume its activities in the area,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X. “We urge residents of the building marked in red on the attached map, as well as those of neighboring buildings: you are near a building used by Hezbollah. For your safety, you must evacuate immediately and move away, along with adjacent buildings, by at least 300 meters,” he added, publishing a map of the targeted area.

The United States and Israel have long urged the Lebanese Army to inspect private property in the South as part of efforts to disarm Hezbollah. The army had previously refused to do so, citing concerns over the risk of internal conflict.

The cease-fire monitoring mechanism is composed of five members — France and the United States as co-chairs, alongside Lebanon, Israel, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). It is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, which entered into force in late November 2024, and primarily with ensuring the dismantling of weapons in the South through the Lebanese Army.

Israeli violations continue

Alongside these developments, Israeli violations of the cease-fire continued on Saturday.

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Small Israeli drones dropped two stun grenades on Ras al-Naqoura (Sour district) and another on al-Bustan (Sour district), targeting a civilian’s car while its owner was inspecting his land despite being accompanied by the Lebanese Army. No injuries were reported.

Israeli artillery also shelled the outskirts of the village of Dhaira (Sour district). In addition, Israeli drones were reported flying over southern Lebanon, including Saida and the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Late Friday night, Israeli forces swept the outskirts of the village of Shebaa (Hasbaya district) with medium machine-gun fire from their “Radar” military position.

Since the Cabinet decision on Aug. 5 for the Lebanese Army to establish the state’s monopoly on arms, Hezbollah has refused to hand over its arsenal as long as Israeli attacks and occupation continue in southern Lebanon. Tasked in September with outlining and implementing a disarmament plan, the army says it has completed most of the first phase of operations south of the Litani River, with efforts set to continue through the end of the year.

Despite the cease-fire agreement, Israel continues to carry out near-daily strikes on Lebanese territory and maintains its occupation of several areas in southern Lebanon.

Report contributed by our correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.