The Israeli army ordered residents of the Lebanese city of Tire to evacuate as soon as possible, warning: “You must leave immediately.”
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Arab media spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post on his official I don’t intend to hurt you.
“You should immediately leave the red marked area and head towards the north of the Awali River,” he said. “Anyone who is near Hezbollah combat elements, installations and equipment is putting their life in danger.”
#urgent Urgent statement to residents of the Tire region of Lebanon
⭕️The warning is specifically addressed to people in the buildings located between the streets: Al-Hiram Street, Jaafar Sharaf Al-Din, Abu Deeb and Al-Athar.⭕️Hezbollah’s activities force the IDF to act forcefully against it, because it does not intend to harm you.
⭕️You must immediately move away from the designated area… pic.twitter.com/5ngkUehGJm
– افیخای ادرعی (@AvichayAdraee) October 23, 2024
Adraee issued the warning to residents of Tire in the buildings located between Al-Hiram, Jaafar Sharaf Al-Din, Abu Deeb and Al-Athar streets.
Hussein Malla/AP Photo
Israeli airstrikes kill Lebanese mayor
The alert comes as Israel has targeted Lebanese cities other than the capital Beirut in the past week, with the mayor of the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh killed last Tuesday.
He was killed along with five others in Israeli airstrikes while attending a city council meeting to coordinate relief efforts.
Blinken warns Netanyahu against aid
In Israel, the capital Tel Aviv woke up to the sound of sirens as rockets were detected in Israeli airspace. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his final day of negotiations before heading to Saudi Arabia.
Blinken, who met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials on Tuesday, said he had pressured Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to Gaza and reiterated his warning not to doing so could lead to a reduction in U.S. military aid.
Heavy losses since Israel launched its operation in Gaza
The latest conflict in the Middle East began when Israel suffered the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in the country’s history on October 7 last year, carried out by the Iran-backed Hamas militant group, which left around 1,200 dead and around 250 people taken hostage. Nearly 100 people remain in captivity, and fewer than 70 are believed to be alive.
The Israeli army launched an operation in Gaza in response, which resulted in the deaths of around 42,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Nathan Howard/AP Photo
Tensions have increased in the region, with Hezbollah, also backed by Iran, launching attacks in solidarity with Hamas and Israel striking Lebanon and facing retaliation from Iran for several high-profile killings. Recently, the Israeli Defense Forces launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, killing 2,400 people and displacing more than a million, according to Lebanese officials.
Israel was directly attacked by Iran when it launched hundreds of missiles against the country and responded by killing several Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian commanders.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press
