IDF Orders Evacuation of 16 South Lebanon Villages After Hezbollah Drones Cross into Israel

Two Hezbollah drones fell inside Israeli territory near the Lebanese border Sunday, the IDF confirmed, triggering urgent evacuation orders for residents of 16 villages in southern Lebanon's Nabtiyeh region.

The IDF's Arabic-language spokesperson issued the orders shortly after the incidents, directing residents of villages including Arqui, Bint Jubayl, Jibaa, Jarnaya, Kfar Beit, Kfar Malki, and others to immediately vacate their homes and move at least 1,000 meters into open areas. No casualties were reported and the incidents are under investigation.

"Due to Hezbollah's violations of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is compelled to act against it with force," the statement read. "The IDF does not intend to harm you."

Sunday's drone incidents mark the third reported instance of fire from Lebanese territory within 24 hours. Overnight, the military identified a suspicious aerial target that fell in an area where IDF forces are operating in southern Lebanon, and the Air Force intercepted a rocket fired toward those forces, triggering alerts from the interception attempts. No casualties were reported in either case.

Notably, the evacuation orders made no reference to Beirut, despite repeated public commitments from Defense Minister Israel Katz last week that any Hezbollah attack on northern Israeli communities would trigger strikes on the capital's Dahiyeh quarter. "The fate of Dahiyeh is the fate of the north's communities," Katz said, warning that every such attack would be answered with a strike on Dahiyeh.

Katz also warned Iran directly, saying Israel "categorically rejects Iranian threats" and that any Iranian attempt to link the Lebanon and Iran fronts and strike Israel would be "met with great force."