Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanese Coastal City after Residents Evacuate

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Tyre, southern Lebanon, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Tyre, southern Lebanon, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
TT
20

Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanese Coastal City after Residents Evacuate

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Tyre, southern Lebanon, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Tyre, southern Lebanon, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Israeli jets struck multiple buildings in Lebanon's southern coastal city of Tyre on Wednesday, sending up large clouds of black smoke, while Hezbollah confirmed that a top official widely expected to be the group's next leader had been killed in an Israeli strike.

The state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the nearby town of Maarakeh killed three people. There were no reports of casualties in Tyre, where the Israeli military had issued evacuation warnings prior to the strikes.

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 could be seen in the sky from the hotel where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was staying on his latest visit to the region to try to renew ceasefire talks.

The group confirmed that Hashem Safieddine had been killed in an announcement Wednesday, one day after Israel said it had killed him in a strike earlier this month in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Safieddine, a powerful cleric within the party ranks, had been expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes, after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. All-out war erupted in Lebanon last month, and Israeli strikes killed Nasrallah, and most of his senior commanders. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October.

Tyre, a provincial capital, had largely been spared in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but strikes in an around the city have intensified recently.

The 2,500-year-old city, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut, is known for its pristine beaches, ancient harbor and imposing Roman ruins and hippodrome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is among Lebanon’s largest cities and a vibrant metropolis popular with tourists.

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

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings a couple hours prior for dozens of buildings in the heart of the city. It told residents to move north of the Awali River, dozens of kilometers (miles) to the north.

Avichay Adraee, an Israeli military spokesman, said on the 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 the Shiite Hezbollah has a strong presence, and its legislators are members of the group or its allies. But Tyre is also home to civilians with no ties to the group, including a sizable Christian community.

First responders from Lebanon’s Civil Defense used loudspeakers to warn residents to evacuate the area and helped older adults and others who had difficulty leaving. Ali Safieddine, the head of the Civil Defense, told The Associated Press there were no casualties.

Dr. Wissam Ghazal, a health official in Tyre, said the strikes hit six buildings, flattening four of them, around 2 1/2 hours after the evacuation warnings. People displaced by the strikes could be seen in parks and sitting on the sides of nearby roads.

The head of Tyre's disaster management unit, Mortada Mhanna, told the AP that although many people had fled, thousands of residents and others who have been displaced from other areas have chosen to stay in the city. Many people, including hundreds of families, previously had fled villages in South Lebanon to seek refuge in shelters in Tyre.

An estimated 15,000 people remain in the city out of a pre-war population of about 100,000, Mhanna said.

“It’s very difficult for many to leave. They’re worried about being subjected to further chaos and displacement,” he said, adding that he and his team had chosen to stay in the city, but “it’s a big risk. It’s not safe here anymore.”

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

On the Israeli side, attacks have killed around 60 people, half of them soldiers. Near-daily rocket barrages have emptied out communities across northern Israel, displacing some 60,000 people. In recent weeks Hezbollah has extended its range, launching scores of rockets every day and regularly targeting the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Most of the projectiles are intercepted or fall in open areas.



Sudan's Foreign Ministry Condemns Nairobi Meetings as Army Vows Retaliation

Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army General Yasir Al-Atta (Sudan News Agency)
Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army General Yasir Al-Atta (Sudan News Agency)
TT
20

Sudan's Foreign Ministry Condemns Nairobi Meetings as Army Vows Retaliation

Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army General Yasir Al-Atta (Sudan News Agency)
Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army General Yasir Al-Atta (Sudan News Agency)

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry has downplayed meetings held in Nairobi, Kenya, to sign a political charter that would pave the way for the establishment of a government in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.

This proposed government would act as a parallel authority to the military-backed administration based in Port Sudan, the country’s temporary capital.

The Foreign Ministry dismissed the initiative as a “propaganda stunt” and warned of potential measures to restore order.

The Sudanese army also vowed to confront supporters of the new government and to purge the country of RSF forces.

Speaking at a rally in the northern city of Al-Dabba, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, General Yasir Al-Atta, stated that the military is preparing to “cleanse” the country of RSF forces and retake all areas under their control.

His remarks marked the first direct military response to the Nairobi meetings, which are backed by the RSF and seek to establish a so-called “Government of Peace and Unity.”

This coalition consists of political and civil groups, armed movements, and RSF representatives, positioning itself as an alternative to the military-led government in Port Sudan.

In a strongly worded statement, Al-Atta vowed to fight those attempting to establish the parallel government. “To those who claim to be forming a parallel government, we will fight you in every inch of Sudanese territory. We will show you that the Sudanese nation has lions with sharp claws and fangs,” he said.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry dismissed the Nairobi meetings as a “mere propaganda event” with no real impact. It also hinted at possible actions to restore order.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, the ministry expressed regret over Kenya’s decision to host the signing of what it called a political agreement between the “terrorist RSF militia” and its allies. It accused Kenya of violating international law, United Nations principles, and the founding charter of the African Union.

Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the signing of the political charter was postponed to Friday following the participation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, led by Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu. Additional military and civilian factions are expected to join the initiative to establish a government in RSF-controlled areas, running parallel to the administration led by Army Chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan in Port Sudan.

The Foreign Ministry warned that the stated goal of the agreement—to form a government on Sudanese territory—amounts to an attempt to divide the country, undermine its sovereignty, and interfere in its internal affairs. It also accused Kenya of “harboring RSF leaders and allowing them to engage in public political and propaganda activities,” arguing that this effectively encourages continued crimes against civilians, including massacres and genocide.

Furthermore, the ministry accused the Kenyan government of violating principles of good neighborliness and contradicting previous commitments made at the highest levels not to allow hostile activities against Sudan from its territory.

The ministry asserted that the Nairobi meetings would have no real impact, emphasizing the Sudanese army’s determination to reclaim all land from what it described as the “terrorist militia and its foreign mercenaries.”

It also called on the international community to condemn Kenya’s actions, warning that Sudan would take the necessary steps to correct the situation.

Kenya Faces Domestic Criticism

Kenya has also faced internal criticism for hosting an event organized by the RSF to announce a parallel government, with some accusing it of irresponsibility and “covering up” criminal activities.

Two sources involved in organizing the event told Agence France Presse that RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), who has remained largely out of sight throughout the war, has arrived in Kenya and is expected to attend the official announcement on Friday.

Kenya has historically hosted several regional peace agreements, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan 20 years ago, which ended a previous civil war. However, a lawyer working with the International Refugee Organization, a human rights group, stated that Kenya’s latest move “undermines” the positive image it seeks to project.