Israel launches deadly strikes on Lebanon’s Tyre after warning

Beirut, June 9 (Reuters) – Israel carried out deadly air strikes on the historic port city of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The fatal attack followed a single strike on the eastern edge of the city, which has been among the deadliest Israeli bombing raids since the conflict between Israel and the Iranian‑backed Hezbollah began in March.

Footage verified by Reuters, filmed in the neighborhood of the strike, showed debris scattered across a road and a crane operating in a smoke‑filled alley beside a damaged building.

Rescue workers are still combing through the rubble in search of survivors.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military issued an online evacuation warning for the entire city, including its northwestern Christian quarter, where internally displaced residents had taken shelter and which had not previously been subject to an evacuation order.

Last week, the Israeli authorities claimed that Hezbollah militants were operating in the area, though they provided no evidence, and urged local Christians to pressure Hezbollah to leave, threatening to order the evacuation of the district if the fighters remained.

Lebanese state media reported that residents fled the city on Tuesday, with civil defence teams transporting elderly residents who remained behind to temporary shelters.

Doctors Without Borders warned that the forced displacement orders expose people to further harm by compelling them to move under unsafe and chaotic conditions.

Consequently, MSF announced it would suspend medical activities at several nearby hospitals and halt its mobile clinic operations for the day.

The current conflict in Lebanon escalated after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of Tehran, prompting Israel to respond with intensive airstrikes and a ground invasion that has occupied large parts of the southern region.

A U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced on April 16 has failed to halt the fighting in southern Lebanon.

Israel has continued to issue evacuation orders across southern Lebanon, effectively empties about a fifth of the country, including areas far beyond the front lines.

Source link