Residents reel as Tyre's Christian quarter emptied out after Israeli warning
The Christian quarter in south Lebanon's Tyre, the last pocket of the coastal city spared from Israeli threats, was emptied out on Tuesday after an unprecedented warning for the city's residents.
"We've packed our things, and we're leaving," resident Elias Barbour told AFP.
"What have we done wrong? What are we supposed to do?" he added, saying that he would go to his sister's home in Beirut "for a few days to see what happens".
Behind him, fishing boats lay moored along the narrow docks of the historical neighbourhood, while traditional restaurants and cafes were closed.
This district of Tyre's Old City -- usually filled with visitors wandering its colourful narrow streets and sunbathing at the nearby beach during summer -- was nearly deserted.
It had served as a shelter for thousands of displaced people from border villages during the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, and one of the south's largest, Tyre is home to UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins.
Israel has heavily bombarded the city since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2.
But Tuesday was the first time the Israeli army explicitly told residents of the Christian-majority neighbourhood to leave.
After the Israeli warning, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Israeli airstrikes on the city.
A strike on Tyre before the warning killed eight people, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
The Israeli military had previously issued repeated evacuation warnings for most of the Shia-majority city, also home to multiple Palestinian refugee camps, including after an April 17 ceasefire that was meant to stop the fighting.
- 'Liars' -
"The neighbourhood is empty, some people are packing their belongings to leave, and others have already left... and only a few people remain," municipal council member Walid al-Tawil said.
Most people left for Sidon or Beirut, he added.
Some residents, not knowing where to go, stayed in their cars, parked by the beach, according to an AFP correspondent.
In Sidon, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Tyre, another correspondent saw people arriving in the city, many with mattresses and other belongings tied to their cars.
"Today they threatened the Christian quarter... we were scared and fled," said Ahmed Haidar after setting up his tent in Sidon.
"They threatened all of Tyre, there is no safety there anymore."
Last week, Israel's military alleged that Hezbollah members were operating in the Christian quarter and said it would warn people to leave if the group remained there.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,600 people in Lebanon since March 2 and displaced more than a million, according to Lebanese authorities.
"I'm going to Sidon," said Mohammad Mustafa, another Tyre resident, as he and his daughter rode a motorcycle out of the city.
"It's a lie when they say Hezbollah is here... This is a lie to scare people. They're liars," he added.
"I don't want to go. This is my home, my soul. We're fishermen. Where else would we go?"
Source: Agence France Presse
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