Israeli attack in Lebanon kills eight, evacuation ordered for Christian neighborhood

2026-06-09 18:38:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli attack in Lebanon kills eight, evacuation ordered for Christian

Israel has bombed the city of Tyre, killing eight people and wounding at least 32 others, and hit dozens of other villages in southern Lebanon, while issuing forced evacuation orders for the ancient city's historic Christian quarter for the first time.

Israel struck the al-Masaken neighborhood without warning on Tuesday morning, sending clouds of smoke billowing above the city's buildings and setting fires. Further airstrikes were carried out across the city, and a series of bombardments hit Abbasieh, a village north of Tyre.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli soldiers in the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras. The Israeli military said it had killed a "terrorist" who had crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel and opened fire on Israeli soldiers - the first time in this round of fighting that a fighter from Lebanon had crossed the border. It was not clear whether the gunman was affiliated with Hezbollah.

Immediately after the bombings in Tyre, Israel issued a forced evacuation warning for Palestinian refugee camps in the city, as well as the Christian neighborhood, claiming that Hezbollah members had infiltrated the area and could attack.

Hundreds of people fled the Christian neighborhood after the forced evacuation announcement, with cars packed with mattresses and personal belongings filling the narrow streets of the historic port district.

The Christian neighborhood had not previously been hit by Israel and was considered a safe zone in the middle of a city that was otherwise under bombardment. Many of the city's Shiite Muslim residents had relocated there in the hope of safety. Last week, the Lebanese army deployed to the neighborhood as displaced people arrived, to show that Hezbollah had no armed presence in the area and to try to prevent Israeli attacks.

Christian religious leaders from three different faiths in Tyre called on the international community and the Lebanese state to prevent Israel's attack on the neighborhood. The leaders called on the global community to "take immediate and serious action to save the Old City of Tyre from destruction and human tragedy."

“The Old City is not just a residential area,” the cleric said. “It is the historical and human heart of Tyre, home to thousands of civilians, including families, children and the elderly.” They added that attacking the neighborhood would constitute a humanitarian “catastrophe.”

The city has also hosted thousands of people displaced from their villages in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army advanced north. The attacks and recent evacuation orders have pushed many people into their second or even third displacement, and have triggered a new wave of displacement for residents of Palestinian refugee camps in Tyre, some of whom had returned from northern Lebanon after finding no shelter.

Tyre is considered one of the oldest cities in the world and is home to many archaeological sites, including a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sunday's attack damaged Roman ruins, and other archaeological sites in Tyre, including al-Bass, have been damaged by previous Israeli attacks.

"Some archaeological sites were damaged when the rubble fell on them, as the debris fell over a large area, affecting a large number of elements at the site - columns, capitals, column bases, mosaics," Ali Badawi, a regional director of archaeological sites at Lebanon's culture ministry, told AFP.

The ministry had placed blue shield emblems with enhanced protection on cultural heritage sites in Tyre in March - signs that, according to the Hague convention, offer protection to archaeological sites during armed conflicts. Israel has also damaged the nearly 1,000-year-old Beaufort Castle, as well as blown up numerous historic buildings in various parts of southern Lebanon in recent months.