CAIRO (Reuters) -The Israeli military on Thursday told residents of four neighborhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate ahead of strikes on what it said were underground Hezbollah drone-manufacturing sites, and thousands fled.
The evacuation warning, published on X, was the first such warning in over a month for the suburbs, which were hit hard in the year-long war that ended in a ceasefire in November.
Residents rushed to leave the area, causing traffic gridlock.
“Despite the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF has identified that the Hezbollah aerial unit is operating to produce thousands of UAVs, with the direction and funding of Iranian terrorists,” the army added in a statement, using acronyms for the Israel Defense Forces and drones.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
A U.S.-brokered truce in November halted the fighting between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. Each side accuses the other of not entirely living up to its terms, and the ceasefire has looked shaky in recent months.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Yomna Ehab; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Cynthia Osterman)
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