Israel Strikes Tyre Following Combat Zone Declaration In Southern Lebanon
Israel strikes Tyre after declaring southern Lebanon combat zones.
The Israeli military on Thursday launched a series of strikes targeting what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in and around the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, following an evacuation warning issued to residents ahead of the operation. According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), two waves of Israeli strikes hit Tyre and an area to its east early in the morning.
The attacks reportedly struck a building and triggered fires in parts of the city, though the full extent of damage and casualties was not immediately clear. The strikes came shortly after Israel declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River—including Tyre—as “combat zones” and urged civilians to evacuate. The warning marked a significant escalation and the first large-scale evacuation advisory since the April 17 ceasefire, raising concerns over a renewed intensification of cross-border hostilities.
In its statement, the Israeli military said it was “compelled to take forceful action” against Hezbollah positions and confirmed that it had begun targeted operations against the group’s infrastructure. The announcement followed rising tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border, where both sides have accused each other of repeated violations and escalatory actions in recent days.
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Israel has also signaled an expansion of its ground operations in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah has claimed clashes with Israeli forces beyond what it describes as an Israeli-declared “yellow line” in the south. Israeli military chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir said operations were being intensified to deliver “ever more severe blows” to Hezbollah, underscoring the widening scope of the confrontation. Diplomatic efforts are meanwhile being prepared in parallel to the military escalation.
Lebanese and Israeli military delegations are expected to meet on Friday at the Pentagon as part of ongoing discussions aimed at reducing hostilities, with further direct negotiations reportedly planned for next week. A Lebanese military delegation led by the army’s director of operations, Georges Rizkallah, is expected to push for a ceasefire and present a framework for extending state authority across the country, including a proposal for a state monopoly on weapons, according to a source familiar with the talks.
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