️ The Israeli military has issued sweeping orders for civilians living across a large swathe of southern Lebanon to leave their homes immediately and move north of the Litani River, citing intended military action against Hezbollah. The directive came as hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group continued to escalate. Hours after the instruction was issued, the military announced it had begun "a wave of strikes" in the south.

️ Tens of thousands of people in Lebanon have already been displaced since fighting erupted on Monday. Some residents, however, are resisting evacuation. Mohamed, 25, told the BBC: "Let them say whatever they want—I'm not going to Beirut to be on the streets. I'm not next to Hezbollah or any of its infrastructure, so I should be fine," adding that he would rather die in his home than flee.

️ In the capital, Beirut, displaced civilians have been sleeping in shelters, on roadsides, in parks, and in their cars. Volunteers at food kitchens and shelters expressed concern that they would not be able to keep up with rising demand. Those displaced have fled from southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the Dahieh suburbs of southern Beirut—the heartlands of Hezbollah and Lebanon's Shia Muslim community.

️ At a displacement camp on the outskirts of Beirut, hundreds of people prepared for Iftar—the meal eaten at sunset to break the Ramadan fast—on Tuesday evening. Some were still wearing the pyjamas they had on when they fled their homes. Everyone the BBC spoke to had been displaced multiple times before by hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shia militia and political party proscribed as a terrorist organization in the US, UK, and other countries.

️ The latest escalation follows Hezbollah's launch of rockets and drones at Israel in response to US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Israeli military responded with air strikes and sent troops into southern Lebanon. Hezbollah's rocket fire in the early hours of Monday morning was its first such action since a November 2024 ceasefire that formally ended 13 months of war.

️ Among those displaced from their homes, views on the war are divided. At the displacement camp, Lamyaa, 56, said: "If they [Hezbollah] can't end Israel, I think they should stop—but hopefully we will defeat it," while criticizing the Lebanese military for pulling back from positions on the border with Israel. Nearby, a mother and her two daughters debated Hezbollah's actions and how weakened the group had been by the previous war with Israel.

️ At a shelter elsewhere in Beirut, Fatima, 32, a mother of two, expressed anger at Hezbollah for pulling Lebanon back into war: "I wish Hezbollah had not done it. Now we are homeless and humiliated. Who is happy now? What did they get out of this except for us having to leave our homes?" Others focused solely on wanting the war to end. Amal, 20, said: "I want to go home. I hope to go back to my village. I hope there will never be war again."

Source: www.bbc.com