Israeli Airstrike on Southern Lebanese Port City of Tyre Kills at Least 8

Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that an Israeli airstrike on the historic southern port city of Tyre on Sunday killed at least eight people. The attack came after the Israeli military issued its first evacuation order for the entire city.

According to Reuters, the Lebanese Health Ministry and state media reported casualties following an airstrike on the eastern side of Tyre. This is one of the deadliest Israeli bombing campaigns on Tyre since the war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began on March 2, 2024.

Footage from the aftermath showed streets covered in rubble, a smoke-filled alleyway, and a crane truck operating near a damaged building. Reuters verified the location as the affected neighborhood.

The Health Ministry stated that rescue workers were still searching for survivors in the rubble.

The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for all of Tyre on Sunday morning, including its northwestern Christian district. This area had not previously been included in evacuation orders and was sheltering many displaced people from other parts of the city.

Lebanese state media reported that residents were fleeing Tyre on Sunday, with civil defense units helping elderly residents who remained to reach temporary shelters.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) expressed deep concern in a statement about the "forced displacement practices," referring to the evacuation warnings issued by Israel before the airstrikes.

MSF stated that this "forces people to move in unsafe and chaotic conditions, exposing them to greater harm."

The organization also announced that it had suspended its medical work and mobile clinic services at several nearby hospitals on Sunday.