Workers clear debris after an Israeli airstrike that targeted the offices of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya in Saida on March 4, 2026. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
The Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a swathe of southern Lebanon on Wednesday, telling residents to move north of the Litani River on the third day of its escalation in the country.
While Israel had already issued evacuation orders to residents of dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, Wednesday's evacuation order was the broadest yet.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he had authorized the military to advance and "take control" of additional positions in Lebanon, where Israeli troops have occupied at least five hilltops since the cease-fire with Hezbollah in November 2024.
Dozens killed since Monday
Israeli strikes have killed dozens of people in Lebanon since Monday, according to the Health Ministry. Many thousands of Lebanese have already fled their homes.
An Israeli airstrike hit a four-story building in Baalbeck on Wednesday, killing six people and wounding another 15, the state-run National News Agency reported, adding that rescue workers were still searching for missing people in the rubble.
Hezbollah announced several attacks on Wednesday, including one using what it described as a precision-guided missile that it said was fired at a military facility in northern Israel.
Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin claimed the Israeli military had attacked more than 250 Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon over a 48-hour period.
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles
