Israel warns of strikes at Lebanon-Syria Masnaa crossing, urges evacuation

Israel warned on Saturday that it would strike an area near the main Lebanon–Syria border crossing and urged residents to evacuate immediately, widening a campaign that has included airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south since March 2.

Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, said the army intends to carry out strikes on the Masnaa crossing “due to Hezbollah’s use of the Masnaa Crossing for military purposes and smuggling of combat equipment,” and called on people to leave the area.

A Lebanese security source at Masnaa told AFP that authorities were evacuating the crossing following the Israeli warning.

On the Syrian side, Mazen Aloush, public relations director at the General Authority for Borders and Customs, said the post—known as Jdeidet Yabous—is “exclusively for civilian use and is not used for any military purposes.” He said traffic would be temporarily suspended “in light of the circulating warnings and out of concern for the safety of travellers” until potential risks subside.

An AFP journalist at the site early Sunday reported it was empty, with only a few guards remaining. Masnaa is the main land gateway between Lebanon and Syria, a vital trade route for both countries. Israel struck the crossing in October 2024 during its previous war with Hezbollah; it remained closed until Lebanese and Syrian authorities began repair work after a ceasefire the following month.

Lebanon’s health ministry said a strike on Maaraka, near the southern city of Tyre, killed five people and wounded one. In earlier statements, the ministry said an Israeli strike on Habbush killed at least two girls and wounded 22 people, while a strike on al-Hawsh near Tyre wounded 18, including a child, three women and three paramedics.

The ministry said the al-Hawsh strike also damaged a nearby major hospital. The director of the Lebanese Italian Hospital told the state-run National News Agency (NNA) the facility would remain open to provide care despite the damage. Tens of thousands have left Tyre, but around 20,000 people remain, including 15,000 displaced from surrounding villages, despite Israeli evacuation warnings covering most of the city and much of the south.

Hours after the attack, the Israeli military struck three buildings in and around Tyre that it had warned people to evacuate, according to the NNA. The NNA reported strikes across the country, while local media said Israeli jets repeatedly broke the sound barrier over several parts of Lebanon; AFP journalists in Beirut heard distant booms.

An Israeli strike on a café near Qaraoun Lake, on the reaches of the West Bekaa portion of the Litani River, wounded several people, the NNA said. The Israeli army on Saturday announced the death of a soldier who “fell during combat in southern Lebanon,” the 11th killed since ground operations began.

It said it struck “more than 140 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure targets” over the previous two days. After hitting a bridge in the West Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon on Friday “to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment,” Israel struck it again on Saturday, destroying it completely, according to the NNA.

Israel’s current campaign in Lebanon began after March 2, when Hezbollah entered the war in the Middle East on the side of its backer Iran, according to the original account in the report. With the Masnaa crossing now cleared of travellers and traffic on hold, both Lebanese and Syrian authorities moved to limit civilian exposure as Israel signalled further strikes in the border area.