Israeli forces struck the southern Lebanese city of Tyre in the early hours of Thursday, hours after warning residents to evacuate and declaring all territory south of the Zahrani River, some 40 kilometres from the border, a "combat zone."
Tyre, Lebanon © Mena Today
Israeli forces struck the southern Lebanese city of Tyre in the early hours of Thursday, hours after warning residents to evacuate and declaring all territory south of the Zahrani River, some 40 kilometres from the border, a "combat zone."
Evacuation orders were issued around 3:30am. By 5am, Israeli aircraft were hitting what the military described as "Hezbollah infrastructure in the Tyre region.
The strikes come as Israel has sharply intensified both ground and air operations across southern and eastern Lebanon over recent days, with Hezbollah reporting "direct" combat, despite the ceasefire theoretically in place since April 17.
Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday while Lebanese authorities said Israeli retaliatory attacks killed at least one person, a flare-up in violence that coincided with the latest round of talks between the two countries.
The Israeli military said it had begun targeted strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday in response to a "Hezbollah violation", a day after the latest round of U.S.-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon took place in Rome.
The latest round of U.S.-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon began on Tuesday in Rome and will continue through Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
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