Strikes kill several after Israel declares southern Lebanon 'combat zone'

Beirut [Lebanon], May 29: Several members of a family were killed in fresh Israeli attacks in Lebanon on Thursday, health authorities said, as tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah continue to escalate. Six people were killed in a strike south of the coastal city of Sidon in the morning, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The dead included two children as well as their mother and father, it added.
The state news agency NNA reported that the victims were a family displaced by the fighting. NNA also reported that two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle near the coastal city of Tyre. Another strike was reported directly in the city of Sidon, where deaths and injuries were also reported. Exact casualty figures were not immediately available. The Israeli military did not initially comment on the reports.
The Lebanese army, which is not a party to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, said one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh province on Thursday.
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli military declared large parts of southern Lebanon a "combat zone." Residents of Tyre, Nabatieh and surrounding areas were told to leave.
Sirens sounds in northern Israel, soldier killed Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified sharply. The Israeli military on Thursday also reported the death of a soldier. Israel and the Lebanese government agreed to a ceasefire in mid-April. Hezbollah, however, has rejected negotiations with Israel, and fighting has continued since then.
Both sides keep carrying out daily attacks, with casualties frequently reported, particularly in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry condemned ongoing Israeli strikes on the southern city of Tyre on Thursday, warning that attacks were threatening historic neighbourhoods, religious sites and cultural landmarks in one of the region's oldest cities. In a statement, the ministry said Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji was following developments "with deep pain and profound concern" amid continued bombardment and Israeli evacuation warnings issued for parts of the city and surrounding areas. Rajji was also carrying out intensive diplomatic contacts to push for an immediate halt to the attacks, the ministry said, describing Tyre's archaeological and cultural heritage as part of the "shared human conscience." Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Lebanon, is home to some of the country's most important Phoenician and Roman ruins.
Source: Qatar Tribune