DANGER ZONE

Israel Orders Evacuation of Northern City Amid Lebanese Border Bloodshed

Over 22,000 residents will leave as Hezbollah steps up strikes.

Israel has ordered the evacuation of the northern city of Kiryat Shmona amid ongoing clashes with Hezbollah in the region, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday. All of the city’s 22,000 residents will be moved from the settlement—which is about one mile from the Lebanon border fence—and put in state-funded guest houses. The move comes after a similar announcement earlier this week ordering an evacuation of all communities within two kilometers (1.2 miles) of the border. Overnight, the IDF said it had used an unmanned aircraft to eliminate “a terrorist in Lebanese territory,” adding that its forces also attacked “military infrastructures of the terrorist organization Hezbollah” in retaliation against the group’s strikes inside Israel.