Israeli strikes leave Lebanon's ancient coastal city of Tyre shaken
[June 22, 2026]
By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — The dust has barely settled in Tyre after weeks of
Israeli airstrikes on the ancient city along Lebanon 's Mediterranean
coast.
Despite the relative calm, life remains largely at a standstill.
A new ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant
group is in effect. But previous ceasefires have broken down.
Uncertainty and fear linger, even as the U.S. and Iran meet for talks in
Switzerland that Lebanese residents hope will bring calm to their
troubled country.
Over 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since
the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in March, two days after the Iran
war began, when Hezbollah fired at Israel. The group has also clashed
with Israeli troops making their deepest incursion into southern Lebanon
in over a quarter century.
Large swaths of southern Lebanon have been left in ruins, including Tyre.
‘Where is this truce?’
During the summer, Lebanon’s fourth largest city is usually filled with
tourists lounging on its beaches, walking through its Roman ruins,
eating freshly caught seafood at picturesque restaurants or taking boat
tours.
Now, tables at the few restaurants that haven’t closed are empty.
Parking lots that are usually packed with beachgoers' vehicles are
filled with displaced people living in tents. Fishermen and mariners say
they can’t sail far from port for fear of being targeted.
“Every day they tell us there’s a truce or ceasefire. Where is this
truce? We can’t see it,” said Ali Bazzi, 31, who lives alone on a tour
boat that belongs to family friends. His home in Toura, several
kilometers away, was destroyed by an Israeli strike.
Like many who have fled to Tyre from surrounding areas, he doesn’t dare
return until he sees long-term calm.
For months, Bazzi has been sleeping on a mattress on the deck, and
selling sandwiches at a small stand a few steps away to earn money.
Israel in early June warned the entirety of Tyre to leave before it
launched intense airstrikes across the city, saying it was targeting
Hezbollah.
But Bazzi stayed. He recalled the emptied, ghostly city and the cries of
women and children as Israeli strikes began. And he said he woke one
night to the sound of a drone hovering over the port and worried it had
come for him.
Even as the new ceasefire appeared to be largely holding, Tyre residents
still pause anxiously when they hear Israeli jets overhead.
Ancient heritage and environment were threatened
It seems at least one building has been reduced to rubble on every
street. Others remain standing with several floors blown off.
Pictures of those killed, including paramedics, families, and Hezbollah
militants, are posted as memorials on the ruins of buildings and
dashboards of parked cars.
The city's iconic heritage sites are not unscathed.
Several buildings next to the remains of a 2nd century citadel were
struck. Debris knocked the crowns off some Roman columns and damaged
stones on the Roman road that have existed for thousands of years.
Employees hope the damage to the UNESCO World Heritage site can be
repaired.
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A man stands behind shattered windows at Jabal Amel Hospital, which
was heavily damaged in Israeli strikes that hit nearby buildings
earlier this month, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon,
Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
“We’re waiting for a committee to come and inspect it,” said Adnan
Istanbuli, an employee at the Lebanese Directorate General of
Antiquities. “The city of Tyre is 5,000 years old, and what happened
to it is huge."
Just south of the city, the shoreline in Mansouri, a well-known
wildlife preserve for sea turtles and other animals, is now
inaccessible after Israeli strikes. Mona Khalil, a well-known
environmentalist who lived along that shore, died Friday from her
wounds, weeks after a strike hit her home.
Hospital workers say they no longer feel safe
One of Tyre’s largest hospitals is repairing some of its units that
were destroyed when an Israeli airstrike struck a building across
the street.
Doctors at the Jabal Amel Hospital have lived through multiple wars
over the past few decades but said this one is different. In the
past, they felt relatively safe as long as they were in the
hospital. This time, the Israeli strikes occurred nearby and without
warning.
Doors and windows were blown off. Staff rushed to treat wounded
patients and colleagues. Thick smoke filled the hospital.
“We used to be scared, but we’re a lot more scared now,” said
intensive care unit nurse Khadeeja Yousef, whose unit overlooks the
hospital parking lot, now reduced to rubble and charred cars.
Cardiologist Mohammad Nassar's private clinic across the street was
hit. Now he rummages through the debris, looking for hundreds of
books he had collected for over three decades.
“I don’t care about any heart monitoring machines or anything else,
but the books are dear to my heart,” he said.
People in Tyre are constantly reminded that prospects for long-term
stability are unclear as negotiations continue between Israel and
Lebanon in Washington, with Hezbollah playing no role and resisting
efforts to disarm it.
Large swaths of land just south of the city are under Israeli
control, stretching to the United Nations-mandated Blue Line that
separates the countries. In recent days, smoke from distant Israeli
artillery fire was visible from Tyre's shoreline.
And on a distant hilltop, an Israeli flag could be seen.
___
Associated Press journalist Malak Harb in Tyre, Lebanon, contributed
to this report.
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