ISTANBUL

The Israeli army announced early Wednesday that it launched a new wave of attacks on southern Lebanon.

The strikes were carried out in line with evacuation orders issued earlier to residents in the city of Tyre and surrounding areas, it said in a statement.

Residents were urged to leave their homes and move north of the Zahrani River, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Lebanon-Israel border.

The army said the latest strikes targeted locations it alleges are used by the Hezbollah group.

It follows Israeli airstrikes early Wednesday on residential areas in central Beirut which killed six people and injured 24, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The strikes targeted apartments in the Zoqaq al-Blat and Basta al-Fawqa neighborhoods, while additional attacks were reported in the city’s southern suburbs.

Israel also issued evacuation orders Tuesday for residents of Tyre and nearby Palestinian refugee camps, warning it would target sites it claimed were used by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began striking Israeli military sites on March 2 in response to continued Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that took effect in November 2024 and also due to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28.

Israel escalated its attacks the same day with airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern and eastern Lebanon.

It also launched a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon on March 3 after initiating a joint military campaign with the US against Iran on Feb. 28.