Hezbollah has evacuated positions in south and east Lebanon in response to Israeli threats of reprisals following a deadly rocket strike on the annexed Golan Heights.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed strong retaliation after 12 young people were killed in Majdal Shams.

Israel accused Hezbollah of firing an Iranian Falaq-1 rocket, though the group denied involvement.

Sources close to Hezbollah, who requested anonymity, reported the evacuation of vulnerable positions in the Bekaa valley and southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has been supporting ally Hamas with near-daily attacks on Israeli military positions since October.

The cross-border hostilities have occasionally expanded as Israel has conducted strikes inside Lebanon.

Additionally, Hezbollah has vacated positions in Syria, anticipating potential Israeli airstrikes.

Since the onset of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has targeted Hezbollah and Iran-backed fighters to disrupt supply routes to Lebanon.

Tensions further escalated following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.