Politics Israeli army warns residents in the south of Lebanon

The Israeli army has accused the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah of deliberately hiding weapons of attack in the homes of civilians in the south of Lebanon. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that this affected dozens of villages in a zone up to 80 kilometers north of the Israeli border.

"Hezbollah has turned the south of Lebanon into a combat zone," he said. In doing so, the organization is endangering the citizens of its own country. He called on all civilians who were in the vicinity of houses in which Hezbollah had hidden weapons to leave the area immediately.

When asked by a journalist whether Israel was planning a ground offensive in the south of Lebanon, Hagari said that "everything will be done to allow the inhabitants of the Israeli north to return safely to their homes". Israel had recently significantly stepped up its attacks in the hostile neighboring country.