Israeli army issues evacuation orders for seven south Lebanon villages

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings on Saturday for residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon, saying it was about to strike Hizbollah targets there.
"In light of the terrorist organisation Hizbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is compelled to take decisive action against it," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X in two separate statements, naming seven villages in Lebanon's south, including some near Nabatieh.

Meanwhile, military officials from Israel and Lebanon held "productive" talks in Washington on Friday, a US official said, adding that the meeting will complement upcoming diplomatic discussions.

"Today at the Pentagon, I hosted military delegations from Israel and Lebanon for the security track supporting the ongoing peace talks between their two countries," Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's second-in-command, said on X.

"We held productive military-to-military discussions which will inform the Department of State-led political track next week," he said.

It was the first meeting between Israeli and Lebanese military officials in decades.

"The United States anticipates reconvening soon to continue the security track," Colby said.

He made no mention of the truce to halt fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hizbollah group in Lebanon that was supposed to have taken effect on April 17, but has never been observed.