Israel the previous day had declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River – an area roughly 40 kilometres from the border and including Tyre – as “combat zones” and told residents to evacuate ahead of attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The sweeping warning – the first of its kind since an April 17 ceasefire – came as many Lebanese tried to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
In a fresh evacuation order to residents of parts of Tyre early on Thursday, the Israeli military said it was “compelled to take forceful action” against Hezbollah and announced in a later statement on Telegram that it had begun strikes it said targeted the group’s infrastructure.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported two sets of Israeli strikes had taken place on the city and an area to its east on Thursday morning, hitting a building and sparking a fire in Tyre.
Israel this week vowed to ramp up operations in Lebanon and said it was expanding ground operations there, while Hezbollah said its fighters had clashed with Israel’s forces beyond an Israeli-declared “yellow line” in the south.
Talks are expected on Friday between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations at the Pentagon, with a new round of direct negotiations aimed at ending the hostilities set for next week.
Lebanon’s health ministry on Wednesday reported the overall death toll since the war erupted on March 2 was 3,269, an increase of 56 from a day earlier following heavy Israeli strikes. (AFP)
