Lebanese citizens get warning messages from Israel calling on them to evacuate, local media reports

Lebanese citizens in Beirut and other regions have received phone messages from Israel calling on them to evacuate immediately, the country’s national news agency reported Monday as fears grow of a wider regional war.

The country’s Minister of Information told NNA that his office also received one of these messages, calling it “psychological warfare.”

Israel’s military on Monday urged civilians in Lebanon to leave areas in which Hezbollah operates, warning it would soon “engage in extensive precise strikes” against the group.

“We ask residents of Lebanese villages to pay attention to the messages and warning published by the IDF and heed them,” Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters.

Hagari also said messages will soon be sent to people in Lebanon, with the same warnings.

This is the first time Israel has issued such messages in this way,  a military official told CNN. “We are doing an advanced warning with accurate means saying, ‘if you’re in a house where there is a missile or a cruise missile, get out immediately,’” the official added.

CNN has seen multiple screen shots from unknown senders warning them to leave the vicinity of buildings “storing Hezbollah weapons.”

Israel is conducting further airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said in a statement Monday.

The update comes after Israel said it struck 150 Hezbollah targets and urged civilians to leave areas where the Iran-backed militant group operates ahead of further strikes.

One person was killed and six injured in the Israeli strikes earlier Monday, Lebanon’s health ministry said.