- US businesses 'hesitant' before 2024 elections: Federal Reserve
- Leverkusen held to stalemate in Champions League by battling Brest
- Frustrated Atalanta held to goalless draw by Celtic in Champions League
- Djokovic won't play Paris Masters, leaving doubt over season
- Bolivian transport workers strike over fuel shortages
- Fury expects to knock out Usyk in heavyweight title rematch
- Georgia ruling party stages mass rally ahead of key vote
- Attack kills 4, injures 14 at Turkey defence firm
- Another French top pick: Zaccharie Risacher starts life in the NBA
- EU chief starts Balkans tour, says enlargement 'top priority'
- Destitute Gazans cold 'every night' as winter approaches
- Asalanka stars as Sri Lanka defeat West Indies in second ODI, clinch series
- 'The whole city shook': Israel pounds Lebanon's ancient Tyre
- Belarus to hold presidential vote on January 26
- BHP denies responsibility for 2015 Brazil mine disaster at London trial
- Lagarde says ECB should be careful with rise in emerging currencies
- Shiffrin to skip downhill, no stress over landmark World Cup victories
- US says N.Korea sent 'thousands' of troops to Russia
- Emery already one of 'Villa's greats', says McGinn
- 4 dead, 14 hurt in attack at Turkey defence firm
- Activists take German government to court over biodiversity
- US existing home sales slip in September to near 14-year low
- Bank of Canada cuts rates, says fight against inflation 'worked'
- Zimbabwe smash T20I record with 344-4 against Gambia
- Boeing reports $6.2 bn loss as it awaits vote on end to strike
- Mourinho says Man Utd 'will succeed sooner or later'
- China should use fiscal policy to boost growth: IMF
- Wolfspeed and ZF put German chip factory on ice
- Putin faces calls for peace at flagship BRICS summit
- Stock markets and oil prices retreat
- Dupont back in France squad for November internationals
- Caelan Doris to captain Ireland in November rugby Tests
- 14 dead, thousands evacuated as tropical storm batters Philippines
- Boeing reports $6.2 bn loss on strike, defense contract woes
- Germany's Scholz heads to India despite differences on Russia
- Sri Lanka deploys troops to Jewish community centre after US warning
- Sione Tuipulotu named as Scotland captain for November internationals
- 'I'm broken', mass rape victim tells French court
- Don't let tech gurus decide the future: Nobel winner Simon Johnson
- Palestinian seeds join Arctic 'doomsday vault'
- Ariana Grande concert attack survivors win UK harassment case
- Blinken on new quest for Saudi ties with Israel
- UK and Germany sign 'milestone' defence deal
- Seoul says N.Korea sent more troops to Russia, Kyiv urges their surrender
- Mehidy, Jaker keep Bangladesh alive against South Africa
- Stock markets mixed, oil prices drop
- Stokes forecasts spin battle in Pakistan-England decider
- Volvo Cars cuts sales forecast on market headwinds
- South Africa 'shattered' by divorce of rugby star Kolisi
- Putin touts 'multipolar world order' at flagship BRICS summit
RIO | -1.71% | 64.378 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.38% | 24.641 | $ | |
RBGPF | 1.59% | 63 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.96% | 7.29 | $ | |
NGG | 0.01% | 66.295 | $ | |
RELX | -0.34% | 46.86 | $ | |
BCC | 0.65% | 134.53 | $ | |
SCS | -2.77% | 12.465 | $ | |
GSK | -0.3% | 37.885 | $ | |
VOD | -1% | 9.455 | $ | |
JRI | -0.31% | 13.03 | $ | |
BP | -1.3% | 31.176 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.89% | 24.71 | $ | |
AZN | -0.76% | 76.74 | $ | |
BCE | -0.71% | 33.084 | $ | |
BTI | -0.65% | 34.665 | $ |
'The whole city shook': Israel pounds Lebanon's ancient Tyre
Israeli strikes on Wednesday pounded Lebanon's Tyre, an ancient coastal city which boasts a UNESCO World Heritage site, leaving swathes of its centre in ruins.
The raids, among the worst since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah war last month, hit the "heart of Tyre", said Rana, a resident who asked to only use her first name over security concerns.
"The whole city shook," said Rana, after fleeing to the seafront following an Israeli military warning for people to evacuate much of Tyre's centre in the morning.
Thick black plumes of smoke were seen rising from several neighbourhoods, with parts of the evacuation area just 500 metres (yards) from the city's ancient ruins.
The strikes caused "massive destruction and serious damage to homes, infrastructure, buildings, shops and cars," said the official National News Agency.
AFP footage showed entire neighbourhoods buried under rubble.
The Israeli army struck "command and control complexes of various Hezbollah units", according to a post from the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, on social media platform X.
Adraee described Tyre as an "important" Hezbollah stronghold, although Amal, an ally of the Iran-backed group, was believed to hold more sway there.
Bilal Kashmar of Tyre's disaster management unit said seven building were completely levelled and more than 400 apartments in their vicinity damaged in the strikes.
Four streets were completely blocked by debris, he told AFP, adding that at least two people were left wounded after most residents fled.
- Fresh exodus -
Before Hezbollah and Israel started trading fire over the border last year, at least 50,000 people lived in Tyre, a vibrant city home to both Christians and Muslims.
The city was emptied of most of its population when Israel's heavy bombardment began last month.
Only 14,500 remained there on Tuesday, Kashamr said.
But the city saw a fresh exodus on Wednesday as people began to escape immediately after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for four neighbourhoods at 8:00 am (0500 GMT).
Emergency teams drove around the city, urging people to evacuate over megaphones, a video journalist collaborating with AFP said.
An AFP photographer in the city of Sidon, further north, saw dozens of cars on the coastal highway filled with families carrying mattresses, suitcases and clothes.
"Some families, who had not left the city of Tyre before, began leaving their homes to stay clear of areas that the Israeli enemy threatened to target," NNA said.
Civil defence teams helped transport elderly people and people with limited mobility "to safe areas", the NNA added.
- Antique city -
The Risala Scouts, rescuers affiliated with Hezbollah ally Amal, deployed ambulances to targeted areas to transport wounded civilians to nearby hospitals.
"We are working on providing alternative housing with municipalities," said Rabih Issa, an official with the organisation.
Tyre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is home to important archaeological sites, mainly from Roman times.
Kashmar of Tyre's disaster management unit said there has yet to be a damage assessment for heritage sites.
However, "damage is possible," he said, explaining that one strike hit less than 50 metres away from one of the city's ruins.
UNESCO said it was "closely following the impact of the ongoing conflict on the World Heritage site of Tyre" using remote sensing tools and satellite imagery.
On September 23, Israel launched an intensive air campaign in Lebanon, after almost a year of cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah over the Gaza war.
Since then, at least 1,552 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, although the real number is likely to be higher due to data gaps.
D.Schneider--BTB