Israeli drone attacks targeting three vehicles on the Kafr Rumman-Jarmaq highway and the Jarmaq-Khardali road in the Nabatieh area early on Monday killed three people, NNA reported. The attacks occurred as Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for residents of 10 southern villages, citing “Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

Evacuation Orders and Continued Striking

Colonel Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, said in a social media post that forces were “compelled to operate against it with force.” He listed the names of the villages to be evacuated, including Nabatieh al-Tahta, al-Louizeh, Sajd, Ain Qana, and others, most of which are located in southern Lebanon.

Residents were urged to move at least 1,000 metres away from these towns and villages to open areas for their safety; In the southern city of Tyre, an Israeli attack destroyed two homes in the Arzoun municipality, with rescue teams on site to evacuate the injured.

Israeli forces also struck several other towns, including al-Mansouri, Siddiqin, Zibqin, Qlayaa, Yohmor al-Shaqif, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, and al-Haniya. Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported from Beirut that Israeli drones were hovering over the Lebanese capital for the second consecutive day, with nonstop buzzing over central Beirut and its southern suburbs, flying at low altitude.

Escalation Amid Continued Fighting

More than 3. 000 people have been killed since the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah resumed on March 2, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. Despite a US-mediated “ceasefire” that took effect on April 17 and was later extended into early July, Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon and Beirut have continued.

The Israeli military confirmed on Monday that one of its soldiers was killed in southern Lebanon amid continued hostilities and ongoing clashes with Hezbollah; Another soldier was wounded in the incident, with Israeli media reports indicating the casualties resulted from a Hezbollah drone attack. A total of 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the conflict, along with a civilian contractor, since hostilities resumed.

Lebanese President Stands Firm on Withdrawal

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that Israel’s withdrawal from the country was a “non-negotiable” demand that authorities would pursue through negotiations, days before another round of talks in Washington, DC. In a statement commemorating Israeli forces’ withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, Aoun said, “This year, the anniversary of the liberation comes as Lebanon is weighed down by a painful reality.”

“Israeli attacks have not stopped. And our dear southern villages are still suffering under a renewed occupation,” he added. Lebanon and Israel began landmark US-brokered talks last month and are preparing for a fourth round in early June, preceded by a meeting between military delegations at the Pentagon on May 29.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem reiterated his opposition to direct talks with Israel and his group’s refusal to disarm. “If this government is incapable of guaranteeing sovereignty, it should go,” Qassem said. “Where is the sovereignty if America runs the cogs of the Lebanese state?”

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran were also focused on ending the war in Lebanon.