By Laila Bassam BEIRUT, March 5 (Reuters) - Hezbollah has deployed elite fighters to confront Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, sending them back into the border region from which they withdrew after a war in 2024,

Days into its offensive against Hezbollah, Israel is massing armored vehicles near the Lebanese border for a potentially much larger ground incursion.

Israel has warned residents of dozens of villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate as airstrikes around Beirut intensify and Hezbollah reports more attacks.

Meanwhile, the UAE says it has issued an emergency alert, urging residents to seek shelter. Earlier, the country intercepted six Iranian missiles and 131 drones.

Iran is scheduled to play its three group games in Los Angeles and Seattle. The fresh wave of Israeli-led attacks has jolted markets that on Monday mostly managed to shake off the initial shock of the outbreak. Markets provided an initial response to the war in Iran, with the impact on oil prices and inflation at the forefront.

Israel has sent troops into southern Lebanon and told residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an “open war” with Israel in the wake of the U.

Israel launched a fresh wave of strikes across the region, with several people reportedly killed in attacks on Lebanon that the IDF says were targeting Hezbollah operatives and facilities. The army is now ordering civilians in southern Lebanon to leave "immediately" ahead of military action

Huge traffic jams form after the unprecedented warning for people to leave the Hezbollah stronghold, as Israel steps up its strikes across Lebanon.