Israeli Attacks On Tyre Kill At Least Eight, Force Thousands To Flee

Israeli attacks on Tyre in southern Lebanon killed at least eight people and forced thousands to flee, just hours after United States President Donald Trump insisted a peace deal with Iran was imminent, according to Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military issued a forced displacement order for the entire city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter where many displaced people are sheltering, before launching its deadly attack, Al Jazeera reported.

Al Jazeera

In a separate account, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said an Israeli air strike on Tyre killed at least eight people and wounded 32 others on June 9, while Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that the Israeli military urged residents to leave and move north of the Zahrani River, around 30 kilometers from Tyre.

The same Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report said the evacuation order covered the entire city, including its Christian quarter and nearby Palestinian refugee camps, and that AFP correspondents reported residents fleeing the city and heavy traffic heading north.

Al Jazeera also said five people were killed on Monday and four paramedics were among those wounded, as Israel continued to order residents of Tyre to leave the city.

President Donald Trump told reporters that negotiators were in the “final throes” of talks for a peace deal in the Middle East, and he said it would take “two or three days,” CBS News reported.

CBS News also said Trump told Israel and Iran to "immediately stop 'shooting'" after the weekend flare-up that began with Israeli airstrikes on Beirut, and that both sides said they were halting fresh hostilities.

Al Jazeera

In a separate report, the Times of Israel said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Israel to pursue talks, not war, and he told CNN, “We are ready, we are willing, we are committed. Are you? If you are, let’s sit and talk,”

The Times of Israel reported that Aoun said Lebanon sought a “good relationship with Iran based on mutual respect and non-interference,” while he said Lebanon’s people were being killed to serve Iran’s interests.

The Spokesman-Review reported that Netanyahu said in a televised statement Monday that Israel would hold fire in Iran for now, while it also quoted Netanyahu rejecting Tehran’s warning that further Israeli hostilities against Hezbollah in Lebanon would draw a fresh Iranian attack, saying, “This equation is intolerable.”

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said the overall death toll from the Israeli offensive has risen to 3,637 since March 2, with a further 11,188 wounded, Al Jazeera reported.

Al Jazeera also said Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told reporters that Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 air attacks, 407 demolitions, and six so-called “razing” operations that flattened entire villages since April 16, when a so-called ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Lebanon.

In a different framing, CGTN العربية reported that negotiations between the United States and Iran were taking place as Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon intensified, and it said Israel issued evacuation warnings for more than ten villages on Saturday.

CGTN العربية also said Lebanon reported at least 15 people were killed in the Israeli attacks from late Friday into Saturday, and it quoted Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accusing Israel of “widespread destruction and collective punishment.”

The same CGTN العربية report said another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon is scheduled for next Tuesday, as it described military talks in Washington ending without a deal.