Israel Expands Evacuation Orders and Strikes Across Southern Lebanon, Driving Mass Displacement

A U.S.-brokered cease-fire in Lebanon announced on April 16 has brought little respite for civilians as continued Israeli strikes and evacuation orders have driven mass displacement across large parts of the country, according to Daily Sabah.

Daily Sabah said Israeli forces published a map outlining a buffer zone of roughly 600 square kilometers and that residents in 57 towns and villages were ordered to evacuate, before additional evacuation warnings covered more than 100 more communities and hundreds of airstrikes were carried out well beyond that zone.

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Haaretz said the cease-fire agreed to in Lebanon last month has brought little respite for civilians, who are being driven from a steadily expanding swath of the country by a relentless Israeli campaign of evacuations and airstrikes.

Daily Sabah reported that taken together the occupied area and evacuation orders now span about 2,000 square kilometers, nearly a fifth of Lebanon, and that much of it has become effectively inaccessible to civilians, according to local officials, aid workers and residents.

France 24 reported that Israel expanded its military campaign in southern Lebanon on Wednesday by ordering residents to evacuate areas south of the Zahrani River as strikes intensified despite an April ceasefire, and that the Israeli military declared a new swathe a combat zone.

France 24 quoted an Israeli military spokesperson posting on X: "We advise residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Zahrani River, as all areas south of the river are considered a combat zone," and it said the Zahrani River runs east to west about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Israel's border with Lebanon.

Al Jazeera

In Human Rights Watch’s assessment, the Israeli army’s immediate evacuation orders for the entire population of Lebanon living south of the Litani River are highly likely to violate the laws of war, and HRW said Ramzi Kaiss warned, "How will the elderly, sick or disabled be able to evacuate immediately?"

Human Rights Watch also said the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army posted a message on social media on March 4, 2026 calling residents of southern Lebanon to "evacuate immediately their homes to reach the north bank of the Litani" in order to "guarantee their safety."

BBC reported that the IDF urged residents to move north of the Zahrani River, about 40km (25 miles) from the Israeli border, saying it would act "with extreme force," and it said at least 11 people have been killed in the latest strikes, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

“Lebanon: Israel issues an evacuation warning to residents of certain southern areas ahead of the attacks - The Israeli army orders residents of Machgharah, Tyre and Burj Al-Shamali to leave the area immediately Lina Altawell March 24, 2026 • Updated: March 24, 2026 Istanbul AA / Istanbul / Lina Altawell The Israeli army on Tuesday ordered the immediate evacuation of residents of several neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, as Tel Aviv continues its military offensive against the country”

Anadolu Ajansı

BBC also said the scale of displacement is straining the wider region, with shelters in the city of Sidon reaching full capacity, and it quoted the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Lebanon warning the situation in the country's south was "nearing a perilous tipping point."

Daily Sabah said the conflict is part of a wider regional war set off by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 incursion into southern Israel and that Israel has framed its campaign as an effort to push back Iran-backed forces and establish buffer zones along its borders with Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.

France 24 reported that more than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since March 2, and it said the escalation comes as Israeli officials seek to pressure Hezbollah while avoiding actions in Beirut that could complicate US-led diplomacy with Iran.