The 800 residents living in Ain Ebel, a Christian village located four kilometers as the crow flies from the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, discovered that their village was put on a list of 27 areas in southern Lebanon that the Israeli army urged to evacuate "immediately" to the north of the country on Tuesday, October 1. The previous evening, Israel had announced the launch of "limited, localized and targeted" ground operations, supported by aviation and artillery, against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

Yaroun, Maroun al-Ras, Bint Jbeil, Tayri: These Shiite towns around Ain Ebel were also on the list. Ain Ebel's residents rushed to Rmeish, the Christian town next to the Blue Line, where 6,500 inhabitants and 600 Syrian refugees still live. "The inhabitants of Ain Ebel are welcomed at the Maronite monastery, at Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation and in the homes of parishioners. Three hundred inhabitants of Ain Ebel have returned to Beirut in a convoy with the Lebanese army. Everyone is doing well. We have enough food to last three months," the Maronite priest Najib Amil said on the phone.

Rmeish has not received an evacuation order, despite incessant Israeli strikes on the surrounding tobacco fields. "There's a lot of bombing around Rmeish, by planes and drones, some 500 meters from my house. We're not afraid, because we have no Hezbollah fighters or weapons," Najib continued. During the 2006 war, Rmeish had already become a refuge town for 15,000 people, including the inhabitants of the neighboring town of Ayta ash Shab.

This Hezbollah stronghold has been emptied of its population since cross-border fighting began in October 2023. Only Shiite fighters remain. "We heard fighting during the night [Monday to Tuesday] in Ayta ash Shab, shooting and shelling. The Israelis entered the fields between the blue line and the town, by about 300 meters. We saw on TV that they said they had found several tunnels there," said Najib.

An Israeli security official reported localized raids "on a very limited scale" along the blue demarcation line. On Wednesday morning, Hezbollah announced that it had repelled an infiltration by Israeli forces in Odaisseh, after clashing with them at dawn. Further east, the inhabitants of the Sunni town of Kfar Chouba have not yet seen any incursions by the Israeli army. However, surrounding villages have been evacuated under the threat of Israeli bombardment.

"On Monday evening, a drone killed three young people carrying water for a herd of goats," said Qassem Al-Qadari, the mayor of Kfar Chouba, over the phone. "On Tuesday, Israel cut the road between Kfar Chouba and Kfar Hamam by firing a missile that dug a ditch about 500 meters long. With the help of the Lebanese army, the road was opened and the village's 30 families were transported to quieter areas. A soldier was also killed in Halta and 50 families left for the Beqaa."