Israel attacked Lebanon’s ancient port city of Tire on Wednesday after issuing its most extensive evacuation order yet, as Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken toured the region seeking a diplomatic solution to the Hezbollah issue. During this time, the bombing campaign against Hezbollah continued. Intensifying conflict.
The airstrike in Tire, which injured at least 16 people, came hours after the Israeli military warned most civilians in the southern city to move about 40 miles north, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The evacuation zone covers a densely populated area of the city and until recently served as a hub for people fleeing from other parts of southern Lebanon. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
Blinken, who was in Israel on Wednesday morning before traveling to Saudi Arabia, was in the area when Hezbollah fired a missile and forced him and other guests to evacuate to the David Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv. It provided a personal but limited perspective on the deadly conflict that was unfolding. room.
Just before leaving Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the secretary of state appeared to signal that the Biden administration was open to the possibility of an approach to halting the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with U.S. officials saying it could lead to a conflict in the Gaza Strip. I see this as one of the keys to De-escalation of tensions throughout the region.
In a departure from his usual talking points about the Gaza ceasefire proposal, Blinken said the United States is “looking at potentially new frameworks and formulations.” Although he did not provide details, a senior U.S. official said he had mentioned the possibility that Israel would be willing to temporarily suspend attacks on Gaza in exchange for the return of a small number of hostages.
Israeli officials said Israel recently discussed the possibility of a short-term ceasefire lasting about a week and a half with Egypt, which acts as an intermediary since Israel and Hamas do not speak directly. Some of the 101 hostages held in Gaza by Hamas or its allies have been freed, but many are presumed dead.
It was a change from a plan that had been under consideration for months, setting out a path for all hostages to be released in exchange for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and Israel’s commitment to ending the war. becomes.
U.S. officials want to test whether Hamas is more open to negotiations following last week’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and Mr. Blinken on Wednesday said he would not be willing to commit to a “major deal” to a larger deal. “It’s a major obstacle,” he said.
It is unclear whether such an approach is more likely to be successful than past approaches. Hamas has said it will not release any more hostages unless Israel promises to end the war, and its surviving leaders have indicated they will not soften their position even after Mr. Sinwar’s death.
Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed militant group, says it is fighting in solidarity with Hamas and has been firing rockets at Israel from southern Lebanon over the past year. He vowed to continue fighting as long as the war in Gaza lasts. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified with recent Israeli ground incursions into southern Lebanon and increased artillery bombardment, which have collectively killed thousands of Lebanese and displaced about a fifth of the population.
Meanwhile, Israeli leaders say they must eliminate any threat from Hamas, which also receives support from Hezbollah and Iran.
Blinken met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on Tuesday and with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it was targeting Hezbollah’s headquarters in Tire, accusing the group of infiltrating civilian areas.
The Israeli military has also repeatedly claimed in recent days that Hezbollah had hidden hundreds of millions of dollars in a command center in the basement of Al-Sahel Hospital on the southern outskirts of Beirut.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said Wednesday that the U.S. government has seen no information to support Israel’s claims that Hezbollah has set up a bunker facility beneath the hospital.
“We will continue to work with the Israeli side to faithfully recreate exactly what they see,” Austin told reporters at a news conference in Italy.
Weeks of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon have dealt a major blow to Hezbollah, killing the group’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. Hashem Saffieddin, his heir apparent, was confirmed dead by Hezbollah on Wednesday. and other key figures in the group.
Although Israel had previously targeted Tire with airstrikes, this was the first time it had asked such a large part of the city to evacuate. The warning, posted on social media on Wednesday, covered an area the size of several city blocks.
Tire is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. It has Roman ruins that attract international tourists and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city had about 125,000 residents before the war, but many have fled in recent weeks amid Israeli attacks on Hezbollah.
Only about 15,000 people remained in Tire when the Israeli military issued the evacuation order, said Mortada Manna, head of Tire’s disaster management department. Many people who were still in the evacuation zone on Wednesday morning believed they would be safer fleeing to Tire’s Christian neighborhoods or the city’s coastline, he said.
Emergency workers drove through the city’s streets with loudspeakers throughout the morning, trying to warn civilians of the impending shelling. Hours later, Israeli forces began targeting the area, causing huge plumes of smoke to rise above the city.
In a statement, Lebanon’s Culture Ministry condemned the attack in Tire and called on UNESCO to intervene to protect the site.
Gabby Sobelman, Victoria Kim and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.
