An Israeli strike hit near Beirut’s southern approach as Israel intensified bombardments across Lebanon’s south, with a medical source reporting six deaths in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military, for its part, said it intercepted a “hostile aircraft” that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory — the first infiltration of its kind the army has reported in more than 24 hours.
Israeli officials have warned they will target Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah fires projectiles at Israeli communities in the north, a position they say has Washington’s backing.
Hezbollah did not immediately claim any attack on northern Israel.
Against the backdrop of the renewed violence, Israeli and Lebanese diplomats are due to enter a second day of direct talks in Washington — the fourth round since war erupted on 2 March.
First responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike that hit near a hospital in Tyre on 1 June
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said a vehicle was struck on the Khaldeh road, an area at the southern entrance to the capital.
An AFP correspondent at the scene reported an ambulance at the site as onlookers gathered along the main highway linking Beirut to the country’s south.
The NNA said Israel carried out strikes on about 20 locations in southern Lebanon, while the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for residents of several villages there ahead of planned attacks.
In south Lebanon’s Tyre, a medical source said two Israeli strikes on the Al-Hawsh area near the coastal city killed six people: four Syrian nationals and two Palestinians.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military issued a statement alleging Hezbollah members were operating in Tyre’s Christian quarter and said it would order people to leave if the group remained there.
The seaside district — known for its picturesque setting — has so far avoided the evacuation alerts and strikes that have hit other parts of Tyre city and nearby areas.
Tyre was relatively calm this morning, according to an AFP correspondent, who added that some people sleeping in cars or tents on the edge of the Christian quarter moved to other parts of the city after the Israeli military statement.
Late Tuesday, the city’s mayor, a Lebanese army intelligence officer and a Christian religious figure toured the neighbourhood in an effort to reassure residents.
Today’s attacks follow a sharp escalation in recent days, marked by intensified Israeli bombardment and the deepest ground offensive by Israeli troops into Lebanon in two decades.
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