Israeli Strikes Hit Tyre After IDF Declares South Lebanon A Combat Zone

Israel announced it had started bombing in areas around Tyre after ordering the forced displacement of the city and nearby villages, and the Israeli army said it was attacking a Hezbollah headquarters in the Tyre region.

“Israel has announced that it has started bombing in areas around Tyre after ordering the forced displacement of one of Lebanon’s largest cities and nearby villages”

Al Jazeera

The warning came about two hours after Israel issued a warning to residents of Tyre and surrounding areas of impending military activity, and a map attached to the announcement showed areas residents must leave, including most of the city of Tyre.

Al Jazeera

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River—about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border—were considered “combat zones” and urged residents to head north.

The warning and subsequent bombing followed the Lebanese army saying one of its soldiers was killed near his post in Bekaa in eastern Lebanon and that it had retrieved his body, while two more people were killed in Deir Amas in the Tyre district, Lebanese media reported.

In Israel, the military said it identified the impacts of “several explosive drones” in the northern part of the country, as the violence came a day after Israeli attacks intensified across southern and eastern Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and injuring 40, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said.

The Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted that “We advise the residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Zahrani River, as all areas south of the river are considered combat zones.”

Haaretz described the same move as the Israeli military declaring the entirety of southern Lebanon a combat zone and telling residents it will "act with utmost force" against Hezbollah.

BBC

Hezbollah said its fighters “clashed with the enemy forces at point-blank range” in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, just beyond the “Yellow Line,” and it also claimed responsibility for 32 operations on Tuesday targeting Israeli soldiers operating within southern Lebanon.

In the same account, Hezbollah said its fighters launched rocket, artillery and drone attacks and targeted Merkava tanks, armoured vehicles, communication systems and an Iron Dome platform, while downing two Israeli quadcopters.

The BBC said the later evacuation order for areas south of the Zahrani River covers about 300 towns and villages, and it described fears of a major escalation along the Israel-Lebanon border as Israel issued nine evacuation warnings in the past 24 hours.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 3,213 people have been killed and 9,737 wounded in Israeli attacks since fighting escalated on March 2, and it said Lebanon was drawn into the United States-Israel war on Iran that day after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.

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Haaretz

The BBC said the escalation threatens to derail talks aimed at ending the war between the US, Israel and Iran, and it added that Iran insists that any deal must also cover Lebanon while Israel says it reserves the right to continue to fight the threat from Hezbollah.

In the same BBC account, it said the order for Tyre—one of the biggest cities in southern Lebanon—was swiftly followed by air strikes, and it quoted Rida, 52, saying, “People packed up their stuff. Everyone is scared.”

Al Jazeera reported that Hezbollah said its attacks were in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, February 28, as well as Israel’s near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.

Al Jazeera also reported that although yet another ceasefire followed in April, Israeli attacks have continued, and it said the warning and subsequent bombing came after Israeli attacks intensified across southern and eastern Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and injuring 40.