Israel orders new evacuations in Lebanon as diplomacy ramps up

The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for more than 20 towns and villages in southern Lebanon on Monday, the latest indication that its conflict with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is deepening, despite what appeared to be intensifying efforts to reach a cease-fire.

The widespread warnings across the country’s south, the first such orders in nearly a month, were issued via social media and called on civilians to immediately evacuate their homes and move north of the Awali River, farther from the Israeli border. The river effectively demarcates southern Lebanon, which Israel invaded last month in a bid to destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure and stop it from firing rockets and missiles into Israel.

The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began last year when Hezbollah started its cross-border assaults in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to leave their homes in northern Israel. It has significantly escalated in recent weeks and triggered a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. Nearly 3,200 people have been killed, and more than a fifth of the Lebanese population has been displaced.

Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, signaled Monday that renewed U.S.-brokered diplomatic efforts were underway to stem the conflict.

“There is progress,” said Saar, speaking at a news conference. “The main challenge eventually will be to enforce what will be agreed.”

The head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammed Afif, said Monday that the group had not yet received any proposals on a cease-fire deal in Lebanon, but that there had been “contacts between Washington, Moscow, Tehran and other capitals” on the issue since the election of former President Donald Trump last week.

“Nothing official has reached Lebanon or us,” Afif said at a news conference in the Dahiya, the area adjoining Beirut where the armed group holds sway.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.