Israel Intensifies Attacks on Lebanon, Orders City of 200,000 to Evacuate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that “we are intensifying our operations in Lebanon” to create a larger “security buffer zone” between northern Israel and the Iran-backed terrorists of Hezbollah.

Netanyahu made the announcement after meeting with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in Tel Aviv to discuss Israel’s response to persistent Hezbollah attacks.

Hezbollah has been launching drone attacks from the north side of the river, using fiber optic control systems and visual targeting that make their drones very difficult to intercept or jam. IDF units are reportedly scrambling to improvise defenses against the drone surge.

Also on Tuesday, the IDF issued an evacuation order for the Lebanese city of Tyre and its suburbs. Tyre is the fifth-largest city in Lebanon, with about 200,000 residents. The IDF said the evacuation was necessary because