Israel begins strikes on Tyre after ordering residents to leave south Lebanon city

A drone strike typically precedes heavy bombardment

Smoke over Tyre in south Lebanon on October 23 as hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces continue. Reuters

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The Israeli army ordered residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre to leave on Wednesday morning, as it began targeting a large part of the major city. An armed drone hit a street there, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Lebanese rescue workers with loudspeakers drove through Tyre, asking people to leave the area shortly after the Israeli order.

“To Tyre’s residents, to ensure your safety please leave the city immediately,” civil defence workers asked.

Tyre officials told The National that people immediately began fleeing the city, which although largely depopulated of the vast majority of residents, has become a temporary refuge to thousands of displaced people since Israel intensified its air campaign on parts of Lebanon and began a ground invasion near the border.

“The area on the map is predominantly residential and commercial, with most of it now evacuated,” said Hassan Dbouk, president of the Union of Tyre Municipalities, referring to the map for eviction orders issued by the Israeli army. “We hope it's entirely empty.”

Tyre is one of the largest cities in south Lebanon, and the area under Israeli threat is a popular, central, and highly residential area.

“We're concerned this may lead to widespread destruction. They’ve just launched the first missile – a drone strike, which is typically a warning before heavy bombardment,” Mr Doubk added.

“We're terrified of major devastation. We've seen what they did in Gaza. It's the same scenario, unfolding step by step.”