BEIRUT (AP) — Massive traffic jams clogged Lebanon’s capital Thursday as thousands of frightened civilians attempted to escape following an Israeli military directive demanding the complete evacuation of Beirut’s southern neighborhoods, suggesting preparations for extensive bombing operations in the region.
The directive targeting the district called Dahiyeh urged civilians to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” while providing specific escape routes for residents in different neighborhoods.
Throughout the renewed fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants, Israel has targeted locations in Beirut’s outskirts and previously warned all residents south of the Litani River to abandon their communities, though this marks the first comprehensive evacuation directive for areas within the Lebanese capital itself.
Following recent U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran that sparked renewed Middle Eastern warfare, Hezbollah fired rockets and unmanned aircraft toward Israel Monday for the first time in more than twelve months, prompting Israeli counter-strikes against southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern districts.
The fighting has resulted in 102 deaths and displaced over 83,000 Lebanese citizens prior to Thursday’s evacuation directive.
Hadi Kaakour, a resident fleeing Beirut’s southern neighborhoods, expressed uncertainty about finding safety even after leaving his home.
“We don’t put anything past them (Israel), they will strike us no matter where we go,” he said.
Other evacuees voiced anger about Lebanon becoming entangled in the broader regional conflict.
“We got sucked into a mess that we have nothing to do with,” said Yousef Nabulsi, another fleeing resident. “People have been displaced and are now staying on the streets, and this is wrong.”
United Nations peacekeeping forces stationed in southern Lebanon witnessed and monitored fighting in the region as additional Israeli military units crossed the border, according to a representative from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, who spoke Thursday. This marked the initial official confirmation of active combat operations.
“Ground combat was observed west of Kfar Kila,” a village near the border with Israel, overnight, which included “firing of shots,” UNIFIL spokesperson Tilak Pokharel said. In Khiyam, a town about 5 km (3 mi) from the border, he said peacekeepers saw “air attacks and flares and heard explosions.”
Israeli officials announced Tuesday they deployed reinforcements to southern Lebanon. Israeli military units had maintained control of multiple border positions in Lebanon following a November 2024 ceasefire that ended the earlier Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Lebanese military forces withdrew from border areas as Israeli troops advanced, while Hezbollah released multiple statements claiming successful attacks against advancing Israeli forces and distributed footage showing a tank being hit by a guided missile. Israeli military officials reported Wednesday that two soldiers sustained injuries from anti-tank weapons fire in Lebanon.
