Israeli airstrikes pummeled the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Tuesday, hours after the military issued an evacuation warning for the entire area, the latest sign that a U.S.-brokered cease-fire has failed to take hold.
At least eight people were killed in the bombardment, and dozens more were wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said. The Israeli military also targeted towns and villages across southern Lebanon, including areas that were not covered by evacuation warnings, according to the country’s state-run news agency.
For the first time, the evacuation warning for Tyre included the ancient port city’s Christian quarter, a sign that Israel’s offensive was widening. Tyre, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was home to roughly 100,000 before the start of the latest war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group, in March.
The enduring conflict has become one of the central obstacles in the Trump administration’s efforts to reach an agreement to end the United States’ war in Iran. Iran has insisted on linking the two wars in any peace deal, but Israel has rejected efforts to connect the conflicts.
On Sunday, an Israeli strike on the Dahiya neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Beirut, where Hezbollah holds sway, prompted Iran and Israel to launch strikes against each other for the first time since a fragile truce took effect in April. Iran has since pledged to attack Israel again if it keeps up its offensive, including in southern Lebanon.
As President Trump scrambles to keep talks to end its war with Iran from collapsing, Israel and Lebanon agreed last week to a new U.S.-brokered cease-fire following negotiations in Washington.
But Hezbollah, which was not a party to the talks, rejected the proposal because it required the group to stop firing without any immediate concessions from Israel. Hezbollah is Lebanon’s most powerful military force and the Lebanese government is not able compel the group to abide by any truce. Since the new cease-fire was agreed, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to launch attacks.
The evacuation warning for Tyre prompted a wave of people to flee from one of southern Lebanon’s largest cities, which is renowned for its well-preserved archaeological remains, including Roman ruins. The warning included the Christian quarter, which sits alongside those ruins and has long been seen as a haven during war.
Emergency shelters quickly filled with people, and rescue teams were working to evacuate older residents, according to Lebanon’s state-run news agency.
During repeated bouts of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in recent decades, residents from other parts of the city had often sheltered in the Christian quarter’s harbor-side alleyways, an area that was once a favorite weekend destination for Lebanese. Since Israel’s latest offensive began in March, the neighborhood had been spared the airstrikes that pummeled the rest of the city.
The Israeli military said last week that it had “identified activity by dozens of Hezbollah operatives inside the Christian neighborhood,” and called on residents “to demand the removal of the organization’s operatives from your areas.” The Israeli military provided no evidence for its claim.
Lebanese officials moved quickly after that warning to try to prevent the neighborhood from being drawn into the war, with army patrols entering the Christian quarter to begin “security and precautionary measures,” according to Lebanon’s state-run news agency.
Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting.
