The national news agency reported that an Israeli strike on the nearby town of Maarakeh killed three people. No casualties were reported in Tyre, where the Israeli army had issued evacuation warnings before the strikes.

Lebanon: Israeli planes struck several buildings in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tire on Wednesday, sending large clouds of black smoke into the air.

The national news agency reported that an Israeli strike on the nearby town of Maarakeh killed three people. No casualties were reported in Tyre, where the Israeli army had issued evacuation warnings before the strikes.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah meanwhile fired another barrage of rockets into Israel, including two that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv before being intercepted. A cloud of smoke was visible in the sky from the hotel where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was staying during his latest visit to the region to try to resume ceasefire talks.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel, triggering retaliatory airstrikes, after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack from Gaza sparked war there. All-out war broke out in Lebanon last month, and Israeli strikes killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of its top commanders. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that one of its airstrikes in recent weeks killed Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah leader and cleric who was widely expected to succeed Nasrallah. Tyre, the provincial capital, has been largely spared the war between Israel and Hezbollah, but strikes around the city have recently intensified.

The 2,500-year-old city, located about 80 kilometers south of Beirut, is known for its pristine beaches, ancient port, imposing Roman ruins and UNESCO-listed hippodrome. It is one of Lebanon’s largest cities and a vibrant metropolis popular with tourists.

The buildings struck Wednesday were between several heritage sites, including the racecourse and a group of seaside sites associated with the ancient Phoenicians and Crusaders.

The Israeli army hours earlier issued evacuation warnings for dozens of buildings in the heart of the city. He asked residents to move north to the Awali River, dozens of kilometers to the north.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, told Platform X that there were Hezbollah assets in the area of ​​the evacuation warning, without elaborating or providing evidence.

The city is in southern Lebanon, where Shiite Muslim Hezbollah has a strong presence and its lawmakers are members of the group or its allies. But Tire is also home to civilians unconnected to the group, including a large Christian community.

Lebanese Civil Defense first responders used loudspeakers to warn residents to evacuate the area and helped elderly people and others having difficulty leave the area. Ali Safieddine, head of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press there were no casualties.

Dr. Wissam Ghazal, Tyre’s health official, said the strikes hit six buildings and razed four of them, about two and a half hours after evacuation warnings. People displaced by the strikes could be seen in parks and sitting on nearby roadsides.

More than 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict began late last year, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. More than a million people have fled their homes since September.

On the Israeli side, the attacks left around sixty dead, half of whom were soldiers. Almost daily rocket fire has emptied communities in northern Israel, displacing some 60,000 people. In recent weeks, Hezbollah has expanded its reach, launching dozens of rockets every day and regularly targeting the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Most projectiles are intercepted or fall into open areas.