Israel orders fast evacuation of total Lebanese metropolis

Israel’s military has issued an immediate evacuation order for residents of the entire eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek ahead of expected air strikes.

“The IDF will act forcefully against Hezbollah assets inside your city and villages, and does not intend to harm you,” warned Col. Avichay Adraee, an IDF spokesman, marking the first time a whole city has been told to evacuate in Lebanon.

“You must evacuate your homes immediately,” he added on X, attaching a map of the areas that will be targeted, including two towns outside the city, key routes in the Bekaa Valley and a Unesco Roman temple complex.

The evacuation warning came two days after Israeli air strikes reportedly killed dozens of people in and around the city, which had a population of 80,000 before the conflict and is an important urban centre in the Bekaa Valley.

Israel’s cabinet on Wednesday was said to be discussing a possible truce with Hezbollah following over a year of border clashes and a month of ground operations that is said to have killed more than 2,790 people in Lebanon.

Source: telegraph.co.uk