Tel Aviv/Beirut, 23 September 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have warned residents of southern Lebanon who leave near sites used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia to move away from those areas ahead of "extensive, precise strikes, against terror targets."

"Shortly, the IDF will engage in extensive, precise strikes, against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon," the army said in a Telegram post.

"We advise civilians from Lebanese villages located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately move out of harm's way for their own safety."

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that "Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a battlefield." In doing so, the militia has put "you and your families in danger," the spokesman said addressing residents in southern Lebanon.

Hagari said the warning affected dozens of villages in a zone up to 80 kilometres north of the Israeli border.

Hagari said that the strikes on targets in Lebanon come after the IDF identified Hezbollah preparations to launch rockets at Israel, adding the strikes would continue to "remove the threats."

In response to a journalist's question as to whether Israel was planning a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, Hagari repeated Israel's stance that it would do all it could to allow residents to return to their homes in northern Israel.

MIA file photo