Israeli Strikes Hit Tyre, Lebanon, Damaging Historic Landmarks and Buildings

Israeli strikes hit the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Thursday, raising concerns about damage to historic landmarks in the Phoenician port city known as the “Queen of the Seas.”

Al-Monitor reported that the attacks began at dawn and continued throughout the day, and that at least three buildings in one neighborhood, al-Athar (which translates as "archaeological site"), were struck with videos showing smoke rising above ancient ruins.

Al Jazeera

The strikes came one day after Israel declared all areas south of the Zahrani River—about 25 miles from the border with Israel and including Tyre—an active combat zone, and Israel called on residents to evacuate while claiming it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure inside the city.

In Beirut, Lebanese officials denounced the attacks, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam posted to X on Thursday, “Nothing can justify the ongoing assaults on regions of Tyre and Nabatieh and the destruction of their historical landmarks.”

AP reported that Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed at least 19 people, including four women and three children, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry saying the deaths came in near-daily attacks despite a fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

AP said Israel’s military targeted more than 25 sites of Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, while a single strike on the village of Deir Qanoun al Nahr in the coastal Tyre province killed 10 people, including three children and three women.

Al-Monitor

In the BBC’s account, the IDF urged residents to move north of the Zahrani River, about 40km (25 miles) from the Israeli border, saying it would act "with extreme force".

The BBC also reported that the scale of displacement was straining the wider region, with shelters in Sidon reaching full capacity and Tyre’s authorities advising residents to travel further north to Beirut.

Médecins sans frontières said Israeli attacks continued in Lebanon despite ceasefire agreements signed in November 2024, with MSF teams intervening in the Nabatieh region in the south to provide emergency medical and material aid.

“Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon kill 19, including children and women, officials say Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon kill 19, including children and women, officials say BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed at least 19 people, including four women and three children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said, the latest in near-daily attacks from both sides that have not stopped despite the fragile, U”

AP News

MSF described the case of Mohamad Mehdi, 12 years old, who said, “I was at school and I saw the teachers running in the corridors, so I thought they [the Israeli warplanes] were about to attack the school.”

MSF reported that UNIFIL had “reported more than 10,000 Israeli ceasefire violations and more than 370 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the start of the agreement,” and said the attacks drive waves of displacement and destroy civilian infrastructure.

MSF also said its teams conducted 28,000 consultations in Nabatieh in 2025, 2,800 in mental health, and more than 10,300 outreach and awareness sessions, while warning that urgent needs remain significant in an “extremely precarious security context” due to ongoing Israeli bombardments.