Israel is evacuating 28 towns along the Lebanon border for greater “operational freedom” to tackle escalating attacks by Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon and Syria.
Since the Gaza attacks by Hamas on October 7, several civilians have been killed as Hezbollah has fired rockets, missiles, and anti-tank munitions at IDF positions and attempted cross-border raids on at least two occasions, while Israel has responded with artillery, air, and drone strikes. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are also responsible for some of the attacks emanating from southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, in Syria, elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are believed to have deployed to the southwestern border with Israel, along with Iranian-backed militias from Iraqi (Kataib Seyyed ol Shohada), Pakistan (Zeynabiyoun Division), and Afghanistan (Fatemiyoun Division), from where there have been exchanges of fire with Israeli forces.
