IDF alerts Lebanese residents to evacuate near Tyre; ICOMOS pens urgent warning

Israeli Defense Forces issued an alert Monday for Lebanese residents near Tyre to evacuate in preparation for airstrikes, earning an urgent warning from the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

The IDF said in a statement that it would target the residential neighborhood of Zaqouq al-Mufdi on the outskirts of Tyre, claiming without evidence that Hezbollah had violated the terms of a ceasefire agreement. Israel hit Lebanon with airstrikes over the weekend, earning a response attack from Iran.

“The IDF has no intention of harming you,” said Col. Avichay Adraee, as Israel prepared to strike the residential neighborhood.

“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move to the area north of the Zahrani River.”

ICOMOS penned its second urgent alert after strikes on Sunday at the entrance of the ancient city of Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage. The site was recently granted Enhanced Protection under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention.

“The strikes damaged the entrance precinct, administration buildings, and archaeological warehouses of the World Heritage property,” ICOMOS said.

The council said that the alert also followed “deeply concerning situations” at other protected sites like the Chama’ Citadel and Beaufort Castle.

“ICOMOS strongly condemns this attack on a World Heritage property and recalls that cultural property, particularly when under Enhanced Protection, must not be made the object of attack or used for military purposes,” the council said.

The news also comes after the war has led to multiple museums and cultural sites damaged in Iran from U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.

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