Israel Hezbollah war: Israel warns South Lebanon residents to 'not return'

Israel Hezbollah war: Israel cautioned residents of southern Lebanon "not to return" to their homes on Saturday, as Hezbollah claimed to have shot missiles across the border on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Markets and public transport shut down across Israel as observant Jews fasted and prayed.

However, with the country at war, troops remained engaged in the battle in Hamas-controlled Gaza and southern Lebanon, a traditional Hezbollah stronghold, despite an upsurge of criticism over the injury of four UN peacekeepers.

In a statement to South Lebanese, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X: "For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice... Do not go south; anyone who goes south may put his life at risk."

Since September 23, the war between Israel and Hezbollah has killed over 1,200 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry numbers, and driven more than a million others to abandon their homes.

On Saturday, Hezbollah claimed to have launched missiles towards an Israeli army base near the northern city of Haifa.

In a statement, the group stated that its fighters were "targeting the explosives factory there with a salvo of... missiles".

Air raid sirens rang in northern Israel, and the Israeli military announced that it had intercepted a projectile launched from Lebanon.

Israel began bombing Gaza shortly after suffering its heaviest-ever attacks from Iran-backed Hamas terrorists on October 7, last year, and launched a combat offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon on September 30.

Following the Yom Kippur holiday, the focus will likely shift back to Israel's anticipated retaliation against Iran, which launched over 200 missiles at Israel on October 1.