The IDF maneuvered into several villages in the eastern sector of Lebanon on Tuesday, where, according to intelligence, Hezbollah has terrorist infrastructure.
IDF artillery also fired at the area, aiming to destroy terrorist infrastructure, kill Hezbollah terrorists, and disrupt terrorist activity. The ground maneuver was supported by extensive air force operations aimed at gathering intelligence on the situation on the ground and targeting terrorists operating inside buildings.
Later on Tuesday, IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari addressed the IDF's ground operation in southern Lebanon.
"The IDF is conducting limited and targeted raids along Israel's northern border against the threat Hezbollah poses to civilians in northern Israel," he said, adding such raids "will target Hezbollah strongholds" that threaten the Israeli communities.
He added that the terror group had turned the Lebanese villages along the border into "military bases" to use "as a staging ground for an October-7 style invasion into Israeli homes" in a plan dubbed "conquer the Galilee."
"If the state of Lebanon and the world can't push Hezbollah away from our borders, we have no choice but do it ourselves," he noted, adding the war was "with Hezbollah" and not with the people of Lebanon.
IDF issues warning to civilians of southern Lebanon
Amid the IDF activities in the area, IDF spokesperson in Arabic Avichay Adraee issued warnings to residents of southern Lebanon in a post on X/Twitter, asking them not to move vehicles from the northern area to the southern area of the Litani River.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان ⭕️يدور في منطقة جنوب لبنان قتالًا عنيفًا حيث يستغل خلاله عناصر حزب الله البيئة المدنية والسكان دروعًا بشرية لشن الهجمات. ⭕️من أجل سلامتكم الشخصية نطالبكم بعدم التحرك بالمركبات من منطقة الشمال إلى منطقة جنوب نهر الليطاني. ⭕️هذا الإنذار… pic.twitter.com/xbpR9ntaf1
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 1, 2024
"Heavy fighting is taking place in southern Lebanon, with Hezbollah elements using the civilian environment and the population as human shields to launch attacks," the post read, adding, "For your personal safety, we ask you not to move vehicles from the northern region to the southern region of the Litani River."
In addition, later on Tuesday, the IDF's spokesperson in Arabic ordered some 28 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate.
On Monday night, Adraee issued warnings to residents of Beirut to evacuate certain neighborhoods in a post to X.