UPDATE 1-Hezbollah warns Israeli residents to evacuate towns near border

Israel has said it will not evacuate its border towns and has sent ⁠more soldiers into Lebanon, saying this was a defensive measure ⁠meant to ⁠protect its citizens who live nearby.

​Lebanon's Hezbollah warned ​Israeli residents to evacuate ‌towns within ​5 km (3.11 miles) of the border between the countries in a ‌message posted on its Telegram channel in Hebrew early on Friday.

Hezbollah's message came less than a day after ‌Israel warned residents to leave Beirut's southern suburbs, ‌prompting an exodus from a swathe of the capital known as Dahiyeh. Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle ⁠East ​on Monday, when ⁠Hezbollah opened fire, sparking Israeli airstrikes focused on Beirut's southern ⁠suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon.

"Your military's aggression against ​Lebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the destruction of civilian ⁠infrastructure and the expulsion campaign it is carrying out will ⁠not ​go unchallenged," Hezbollah said. Israel has said it will not evacuate its border towns and has sent ⁠more soldiers into Lebanon, saying this was a defensive measure ⁠meant to ⁠protect its citizens who live nearby.

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