IDF builds for Lebanon ground offensive as evacuation zone reaches Zahrani River

Israel expanded its Lebanon evacuation zone to the Zahrani River on Day 16 — 25 miles from the Israeli border and north of the Litani River — a historically significant boundary that defines the reach of IDF ground operations in Lebanon. This is the largest evacuation zone Israel has declared in Lebanon since the 2006 war. Simultaneously, an IDF airstrike killed 12 medical staff at a clinic in Burj Qalaouiya in Nabatieh governorate. The Lebanese Health Ministry reports 826 people killed, 5 hospitals forced to close, and 31 health workers dead since February 28. The pattern of strikes on medical infrastructure is drawing sustained international condemnation. The combination of the northern evacuation zone and over 1,100 Israeli strikes in Lebanon since February 28 points to an imminent large-scale ground offensive. Kushner-Dermer talks on a Lebanon framework were expected but have not produced a ceasefire.