Israel conducts mass evacuations of villages near the border with Lebanon as tensions rise

The Israeli military is evacuating 28 villages near the northern border with Lebanon due to escalating tensions with Hezbollah militants. A civilian and a soldier were killed when anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon hit one of the villages and a military post. In response, the military struck Hezbollah military sites and accused Iran, Hezbollah's backer, of ordering attacks to divert attention from the Gaza war. Iran warned of a regional conflict if Israel continued attacking Palestinian territory in retaliation for Hamas' recent assault. Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful military force, fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006. The IDF announced an emergency plan to evacuate civilians and house them in state-funded guest houses. Many families had already left voluntarily. Only soldiers and local security teams are remaining in the villages. The IDF and Hezbollah exchanged fire along the border, resulting in the first civilian death from a Hezbollah strike and the death of an Israeli soldier. Rocket attacks from Lebanon into Israeli territory were intercepted, and launch sites were targeted by the IDF. Additional soldiers have been deployed along the border, but Israel claims to have no interest in a war in the north. Iran warned that it cannot remain an observer if Israel does not cease its actions in Gaza, and it cautioned that the US would suffer significant damages if the war expanded. The US is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a deterrent against hostile actions towards Israel or any effort to escalate the war.