Israel army calls for evacuation of Tyre, including Christian quarter
The Israeli army ordered Tuesday residents of the historic city of Tyre and its suburbs, including the city's Christian neighborhood, to evacuate ahead of expected strikes.
"Urgent warning to the residents of the city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, and the camps and surrounding neighborhoods," read a message posted on X by the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee.
"For your safety, we ask you to immediately evacuate your homes... and move north of the Zahrani River."
The Christian quarter has so far been spared in the destructive airstrikes on the port city.
Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas as Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal area over the past two weeks.
After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area. But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted on X on Monday that the Israeli military "will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon."
One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tyre lies around 20 kilometers from the Israeli border, and its UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins are located in two main areas of the city.
Israel's military has heavily bombed Tyre since the latest war erupted with Hezbollah. Culture Minister Ghassan Salame has appealed for historic sites to be spared after strikes damaged a World Heritage site in Tyre.
Another archaeological area, known as Al-Bass, had been damaged earlier in the conflict.
Since a previous round of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023, UNESCO has granted more than 70 heritage sites in Lebanon, including Tyre, "provisional enhanced protection," the organization's highest level of legal protection, which is intended for sites at risk from conflict.
An Israeli strike on Monday killed five people in Tyre and wounded eight, including four Red Cross paramedics.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet, Associated Press
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