A firefighter and a civilian extinguish fire from a car following an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on 3 January, 2026. Photo: RABIH DAHER / AFP
The Israeli military ordered residents of four villages in Lebanon to evacuate immediately on Monday (local time), warning it would soon strike Hezbollah and Hamas targets in those areas.
It was the first such warning issued by the Israeli military this year, as Israel continues to strike targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
In two separate posts on X, the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said the villages were Kfar Hatta and Annan in south Lebanon, and Al-Manara and Ain al-Tinah in eastern Lebanon.
Adraee said the military would hit Hezbollah sites in Kfar Hatta and Ain al-Tinah, and Hamas sites in Annan and Al-Manara.
Despite a year-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel carries out regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is bombing Hezbollah sites and operatives, and occasionally Hamas targets.
It has also maintained troops in five areas it deems strategic.
Two people were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a vehicle on Sunday, around 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Beirut has committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was badly weakened after more than a year of hostilities with Israel including two months of open war that ended with the November 2024 ceasefire.
Lebanon's army was expected to complete the disarmament south of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometres from the border with Israel -- by the end of 2025, before tackling the rest of the country.
Lebanon's cabinet is to meet on Thursday (local time) to discuss the army's progress, while the ceasefire monitoring committee -- comprising Lebanon, Israel, the United States, France and UN peacekeepers -- is also set to meet this week.
On Sunday (local time), Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar acknowledged on X that the Lebanese government and army had made efforts to disarm Hezbollah but said "they are far from sufficient", citing "Hezbollah's efforts to rearm and rebuild, with Iranian support".
Israel has previously questioned the Lebanese military's effectiveness and has accused Hezbollah of rearming, while the group itself has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.
At least 350 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry reports.
- AFP
