The roads out of the metropolis Baalbek are congested with vehicles as the inhabitants flee in panic, reports AFP's correspondent. With the help of loudspeakers, Lebanon's civil defense is driving around and ordering people to heed the Israeli warning. Loudspeakers in mosques and churches are repeating the same message.
"Urgent warning to the inhabitants of Baalbek, Ain Bourday, and Duris," wrote the Israeli army's spokesperson Avichay Adraee shortly beforehand on X.
"The IDF (the Israeli military) will take powerful action against Hezbollah interests in your cities and villages," the message continued.
World Heritage site threatened
The metropolitan area of Baalbek had a population of over 100,000 before the war, but many have left since Israel launched its extensive attacks on Lebanon on September 23.
The area now marked on Israel's map includes, among other things, the Roman temple ruins listed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.
We fear that the temples in Baalbek and the city's other World Heritage sites may be attacked, says municipal chairman Moustapha el-Chall to Sky News Arabia.
The locations in question are unusually far north compared to previous Israeli evacuation orders.
Israel: Killed deputy chief
The inhabitants of Nabatieh and its surroundings in southern Lebanon are also being urged to evacuate on Wednesday. Shortly before the warning, Israel's military said it had killed Hezbollah's deputy chief of staff Radwan in the Nabatieh area.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel was also reported to have attacked a vehicle carrying Hezbollah weapons near Beirut. The driver of the vehicle was killed, reports AFP.
The Shia militia Hezbollah has fired several attack drones during the day, targeting, among other things, a military base near Haifa in northern Israel. According to the newspaper Haaretz, two people have been injured by rocket fire from Lebanon.
