Israel Evacuation Order to Lebanese City of Tyre: 'Immediately Move'

The Israeli military has issued an order for residents of the Lebanese city of Tyre to evacuate as soon as they can, warning: "You must immediately move out."

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic media spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post from his official X account "Hezbollah's activities force the IDF to act against it forcefully, as it does not intend to harm you."

"You must immediately move out of the area marked in red and head north of the Awali River," he said. "Anyone who is near Hezbollah elements, facilities, and combat equipment is putting his life in danger."

Adraee directed the warning to Tyre residents in the buildings between the streets of Al-Hiram, Jaafar Sharaf Al-Din, Abu Deeb and Al-Athar Street.

A man walks at the site of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed buildings facing the city's main government hospital in a densely-populated neighborhood, in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 22, 2024. On Wednesday, the Israeli military issued... Hussein Malla/AP Photo

Israeli Airstrikes Kill Lebanese Mayor

The alert comes against a background of Israel targeting Lebanese cities other than the capital Beirut in the past week, with the mayor of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh killed last Tuesday.

He was killed along with five others in Israeli airstrikes while in a municipal council meeting to coordinate relief efforts.

Blinken Warns Netanyahu Over Aid

In Israel, the capital Tel Aviv woke up to sirens sounding while rockets were detected in Israeli airspace. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rounded off his last day of negotiations before traveling to Saudi Arabia.

Blinken, who met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials Tuesday, said he had pressed Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and reiterated his warning that the failure to do so could lead to a reduction in U.S. military aid.

Heavy Casualties Since Israel Launched Gaza Operation

The latest conflict in the Middle East began when Israel suffered the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in the nation's history on Oct. 7 last year by the Iran-backed militant group Hamas, which left around 1,200 dead and roughly 250 taken hostage. Nearly 100 people remain in captivity, with less than 70 believed to be alive.

Israel's military launched an operation in Gaza in response, which has resulted in the deaths of about 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he departs for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. Blinken has told Israeli leaders that "much more needs... Nathan Howard/AP Photo

Tensions escalated across the region, with Hezbollah, also back by Iran, launching attacks in solidarity with Hamas and Israel striking Lebanon and facing retaliation from Iran for several high-profile killings. Recently, the Israel Defense Forces began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, killing 2,400 people and displacing over one million, according to officials in Lebanon.

Israel came under direct attack from 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