Israel's relentless campaign of evacuations and air strikes in southern Lebanon has driven hundreds of thousands of civilians from a steadily expanding swathe of the country, despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced on April 16. This truce, following six weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, has failed to halt near-daily attacks.
Israel initially established a 600 square km buffer zone, but has since issued evacuation orders and conducted hundreds of air strikes across an additional 100+ towns and villages, spanning approximately 2,000 sq km, or about a fifth of Lebanon. This displacement crisis, part of a wider Middle East conflagration sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, aims to create buffer zones against Iran and its proxies. The latest Lebanese conflict erupted March 2, killing over 3,000 and displacing hundreds of thousands. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) states its air campaign eliminates Hezbollah threats, characterizing evacuation notices as "recommendations" for civilian safety.
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