On Wednesday evening, the Israeli military announced that the attacks had targeted command and control centers used by the Iran-backed Shia militia in the cities of Baalbek and Nabatieh.
Earlier in the day, Israel bombed several locations in Baalbek and Duris in eastern Lebanon, reported the Lebanese L'Orient-Le Jour. Pictures showed smoke rising behind the historic temple ruins of Baalbek. According to reports in Lebanese media, at least one attack targeted a fuel depot in Duris.
Inhabitants of three communities in eastern Lebanon were urged to leave their homes immediately a few hours earlier. This is the first time the historic city of Baalbek has been subject to an Israeli evacuation order.
Lebanon's civil defense ordered people via loudspeakers to heed the Israeli warning.
World Heritage at risk
The metropolitan area of Baalbek had over 100,000 inhabitants before the war, but many have left the city since Israel launched its extensive attacks on Lebanon on September 23.
In the area where Israel is now attacking, there are, among other things, Roman temple ruins that are 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 of the areas where Israel has previously issued evacuation orders.
Israel: Killed deputy chief
Inhabitants of Nabatieh and its surroundings in southern Lebanon were also urged to evacuate on Wednesday. Shortly before the warning, the Israeli military claimed to have killed Hezbollah's deputy commander Radwan in the Nabatieh area.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel also attacked a vehicle carrying Hezbollah weapons near Beirut. The driver of the vehicle was killed, reports AFP.
The Shia militia Hezbollah launched several attack drones against, among other things, a military base near Haifa in northern Israel. According to the newspaper Haaretz, two people were injured by rocket fire from Lebanon.
