Troops are already on the ground in the area and the operation is considered a widening of limited Israeli action in southern Lebanon, not a signal that a full-scale ground invasion has begun.

As families fled Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre, the regional manager of the agency Christian Aid said “the situation on the ground is grim and getting worse.”

The foreign minister, George Lillikas, asked for financial help from European countries to help the island cope with the influx.