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Israel Military Issues Evacuation Warning for Lebanese City of Nabatieh

Emergency workers look to recover equipment from a civil defense center damaged in an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Abbas Fakih / AFP)
Emergency workers look to recover equipment from a civil defense center damaged in an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Abbas Fakih / AFP)
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Israel Military Issues Evacuation Warning for Lebanese City of Nabatieh

Emergency workers look to recover equipment from a civil defense center damaged in an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Abbas Fakih / AFP)
Emergency workers look to recover equipment from a civil defense center damaged in an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Abbas Fakih / AFP)

The Israeli military for the first time warned residents of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh to immediately evacuate on Tuesday ahead of expected strikes, while Hezbollah said it confronted Israeli troops in a nearby town.

The day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to intensify attacks on Hezbollah to "crush" the Tehran-backed group.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or military equipment is putting their life at risk!" the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, posted on X, AFP reported.

Largely deserted since the start of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2, Nabatieh has faced relentless strikes despite an April 17 truce.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) also reported several Israeli strikes across the south.

Evacuation warnings near the southern city of Tyre on Monday caused mass panic and an exodus of residents of the historic city, according to an AFP correspondent.

Strikes also hit the town of Mashghara in the east, according to the NNA.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had bombed more than 100 Hezbollah targets overnight.

Hezbollah meanwhile said in a statement that its fighters repelled an Israeli force early Tuesday that had advanced toward Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, which overlooks Nabatieh, following airstrikes and heavy artillery fire.

The group said it used drones and was fighting with Israeli soldiers in the town.

Netanyahu had last night ordered "an even greater acceleration of our operations" against Hezbollah.

"It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fibre-optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures and we will solve this issue... We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them."

Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the ongoing truce, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, while the latter has claimed several attacks on Israeli positions in southern Lebanon and Northern Israel.

More than 3,100 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since March 2, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

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Arab World

EU Urges ‘Immediate, Unimpeded’ Flood Aid to Gaza

Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
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EU Urges ‘Immediate, Unimpeded’ Flood Aid to Gaza

Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians walk through a rain-soaked tent camp following heavy rainfall in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)

The European Union on Saturday demanded Israel grant urgent access for aid groups to Gaza to help the victims of devastating floods there.

"We urge Israel to allow immediate, unimpeded access and sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance and early recovery support at scale, and to reopen all Gaza border crossings," it said in a statement.

Arab World

Israeli Drone Strike Kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza

Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)
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Israeli Drone Strike Kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza

Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk through a tent camp housing displaced people amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP)

An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, hospital officials said.

The drone struck two Palestinians walking down a street in Jabaliya, on the northern edge of Gaza City, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where the casualties were taken.

The American field hospital said several other people were wounded but did not provide a number.

Asked about the attack, the Israeli military said it had struck two Hamas fighters in the area.

Near-daily Israeli fire and airstrikes have continued in Gaza more than a year after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal.

At least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its toll but says women and children make up around half the dead.

Arab World

Thousands Mourn al-Alwani as Lebanese Probe Awaited

Relatives receive former MP Ahmed al-Alwani's coffin upon its arrival at Baghdad airport on Saturday. (X)
Relatives receive former MP Ahmed al-Alwani's coffin upon its arrival at Baghdad airport on Saturday. (X)
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Thousands Mourn al-Alwani as Lebanese Probe Awaited

Relatives receive former MP Ahmed al-Alwani's coffin upon its arrival at Baghdad airport on Saturday. (X)
Relatives receive former MP Ahmed al-Alwani's coffin upon its arrival at Baghdad airport on Saturday. (X)

Thousands of Iraqis on Saturday escorted the body of former MP Ahmed al-Alwani from Baghdad Airport to Ramadi in Anbar Governorate, where tribespeople and residents from across the province awaited his arrival amid scenes of grief and anger.

Meanwhile, the circumstances surrounding his killing in Beirut remain under investigation, even as Lebanese authorities have made progress in identifying two suspects.

A private jet carrying al-Alwani's body from the Lebanese capital landed at Baghdad Airport in the morning, with large crowds of mourners gathering at the airport.

Local media reported that Iraqi politician Khamis al-Khanjar, head of the Sovereignty Alliance, covered the cost of transporting the body aboard the private aircraft.

The funeral procession traveled toward Ramadi, located 110 kilometers from Baghdad, under heavy security and accompanied by military vehicles.

Mourners are seen at al-Alwani's funeral on Saturday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Security Media Cell had urged the public to await the investigation's findings and refrain from reading broader motives into the case before it concludes, noting the ongoing coordination between the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut, Lebanese judicial and security authorities, and the Iraqi National Intelligence Service.

Al-Alwani's killing has sparked uproar across Iraq, particularly in his home province of Anbar. Discussion of the case has been accompanied by political debates and sectarian commentary on social media, amid demands to identify those responsible for his death.

Kamel al-Dulaimi, former head of the Iraqi Presidential Diwan, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the circumstances and motives behind the crime still require clear and transparent disclosure to the public, underscoring the Iraqi state's responsibility to uncover the truth.

The funeral procession traveled toward Ramadi, located 110 kilometers from Baghdad, under heavy security and accompanied by military vehicles. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

He added that the case requires security and judicial cooperation among Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria to track down the perpetrators and those behind them, particularly if the investigation calls for cross-border coordination.

He warned that the sectarian rhetoric surrounding the incident reflects a persistent tendency to view national issues through a narrow lens, emphasizing that the matter concerns the sanctity of Iraqi blood and must not be reduced to the affiliation of an individual or a governorate.

Legal researcher Saif al-Saadi, who hails from Anbar, said al-Alwani was not merely a former lawmaker, but a prominent tribal, social, and political figure in the province, adding that the funeral reflects the depth of grief and anger across Anbar's cities.

Al-Alwani, who rose to prominence during the late 2013 Anbar protests, was arrested in December of that year and sentenced to death in 2014 after being convicted of killing two soldiers during clashes accompanying his arrest.

He was released in April 2025 after spending more than 11 years in prison, following the withdrawal of a complaint by one of the victims' families and his inclusion under the General Amnesty Law.