Israel struck the historic port city of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 8 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The raids, the deadliest on Tyre since fighting erupted in Lebanon on 2 March, came hours after Israel issued an evacuation order for the entire city.
Lebanese state media reported residents fleeing Tyre early Tuesday morning, with civil defence teams transporting elderly people to temporary shelters. A Reuters-verified video showed debris scattered along a road on the city’s eastern edge, where rescuers continued to search for survivors.
The Hezbollah-Israel conflict began when the Iranian-backed militia fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Israel and the United States launched war on Iran. On Monday, Israel and Iran halted direct strikes on each other following an appeal by US President Donald Trump. However, Tehran warned it would resume hostilities if Israel continued its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel has consistently rejected calls to end its Lebanon operations, insisting the conflict there remains separate from any US-Iranian ceasefire arrangement. That position has complicated Trump’s efforts to transform the fragile truce, announced on 8 April, into a lasting settlement. Israeli evacuation orders across southern Lebanon have effectively emptied roughly a fifth of the country.
US rescues Apache crew from Strait of Hormuz
Meanwhile, Trump confirmed that two US helicopter crew members were safe after their Apache gunship went down in the Iranian-controlled Strait of Hormuz. A US Navy surface drone located and recovered both pilots within approximately two hours, as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the pair were in stable condition.
“The pilots are fine,” Trump told reporters at John F. Kennedy International Airport, adding that “Nobody injured.”
It remains unclear whether the Apache was shot down, experienced mechanical failure, or encountered another problem, but when asked what brought the aircraft down, Trump said a report would follow later Tuesday.
In Tehran, officials scheduled the burial for Tuesday of two Iranian air defence personnel killed in Israeli strikes the previous day, and Israel reported no deaths from Iranian strikes.
Additionally, Trump told reporters he might have “an idea” for an Iran deal within days, though he offered no details, echoing hints he has made previously without a deal materialising.
Trump also revealed he had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon.'”
