
The Israeli army announced this afternoon, shortly after 4:00 PM, that it had begun bombing Hezbollah military targets in South Lebanon, just minutes after calling on residents of three villages to leave their homes.
"Today, the Israeli army launched a series of strikes against Hezbollah military targets in southern Lebanon," the official statement from the Israeli forces said.
Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah declared earlier in the day that it rejects any "political negotiations" with Israel, stressing that it has the "legitimate right to defend itself" against Israeli attacks.
Shortly before the bombing began, the Israeli army had issued a warning to residents of three villages in southern Lebanon to immediately leave their areas, as Israeli forces planned to strike Hezbollah's "military infrastructure" in the region.