An ancient tire pays a high price for being on the front lines of a modern war – The Irish Times

As the ancient city of Tire came into view, a strong burning smell hung in the air.

The nearby roads were conspicuously empty except for a Lebanese army checkpoint and a few Unifil vehicles: South Korean peacekeepers smiled and gave journalists a thumbs up. Sections of roads were covered with rubble. An emergency vehicle drove past with its sirens on. There was a new raid in the last hour and more are expected soon.

Tire, called Sour in Arabic, lies about 25 km from the border with Israel. The city was once a tourist destination and its beach was considered one of the most beautiful and cleanest on the Mediterranean coast.

Now it’s almost empty. At the beginning of October Israeli forces warned that they intended to “act in the maritime domain against Hezbollahterrorist activities”, stating that all people must “refrain from being in the sea or on the beach from now until further notice” as this “would pose a threat to life”. Last weekend, that threat came true when an Israeli drone killed two fishermen on the sand.

Tire is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, recognized as UNESCO world heritage side since 1984. It was once “the most important center of maritime and land trade in the eastern Mediterranean,” says UNESCO. It still contains Roman ruins, the remains of a Venetian cathedral and the walls of an ancient Crusader castle.

Israel begins an intense air campaign Lebanon it has caused huge concerns about historical sites and, more obviously, huge civilian casualties. At the end of October, UNESCO “enhanced protection” grantedincluding technical and financial assistance, for 34 Lebanese cultural properties, noting that Israeli airstrikes have already taken place near World Cultural Heritage sites in Tire and the eastern city of Baalbek.

The Beirut Urban Lab research initiative says that in less than a month from October 17, 10 percent of Tire’s development, which includes approximately 1,100 buildings, has undergone Threat to evacuate Israel. A Sunday Times analysis published in early November showed that there were more than 500 further air attacks outside evacuation zones in the wider Tire district.

When The Irish Times visited last week, there were damaged vehicles and overturned buildings along the city’s roads, with at least one still smoking. Nothing more could be seen after an official with the militant group Hezbollah, whose permission was required to move around the city, said it had become too dangerous. He said further air attacks were expected in the near future, highlighting the difficulties international journalists face in trying to cover the full impact of the war.

Despite the danger, some residents went shopping. In two fruit and vegetable stores, products were placed in bowls and baskets – oranges, turnips, eggplants. But the city, a shell of itself, has seen a mass exodus since Israel intensified its attack on Hezbollah, displacing more than 1.2 million people. A Sunday Times analysis shows that a third of all displaced people in Lebanon come from the wider Tire district.

Tire Mayor Hassan Dbouk was unable to meet in person because he was attending the funeral of “friends, fallen victims.” He said via WhatsApp message that more than 7,000 people still live in the city. “We believe this is our home, our past and our future. Our roots. We are very connected to our land.”

Attacks in both directions continued even as reports of a potential ceasefire agreement grew louder. Last week, an Israeli airstrike targeted Tire’s main waterworks, and Lebanese state media reported that two local officials were killed: Residents were encouraged to ration water until repairs were completed. A UNICEF report last month found that at least 28 water facilities have already been damaged by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, cutting off access to safe water for more than 360,000 people. International lawyers and organizations say Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure may constitute war crimes.

Dbouk said most of those killed in Tire were civilians, and the fatalities included one-tenth of all paramedics in the district. The Lebanese health ministry says 222 health workers are among the more than 3,768 people killed by Israel since October 2023. As of October 1 this year, 519 people have been killed in Lebanon’s southern province, including Tire, according to the Lebanon Crisis Analysis Team in humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. Lebanon’s health ministry said 12 people died in two locations in Tire on Monday alone.

Dbouk said several hundred “warriors,” as Hezbollah fighters put it, are currently holding up the Israeli advance south of Tire, “despite (Israeli) air forces and advanced Western technology and weapons.” Dbouk was certain that even if they managed to reach further, the Israelis would not be able to maintain a long-term presence in Tire: “they are destroying the city, but they certainly cannot occupy it.”

He said Israel paid a high price when it occupied Tire in the 1980s before “they finally escaped.” (The)same will be repeated (this time) with a higher price.” A journalist living in Tire said that one day he saw an Israeli tank burning in the distance, showing how close the Israeli invasion was.

The ceasefire agreement is expected to require Israel to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah will have to move heavy weapons north of the Litani River. There will be questions about how much of southern Lebanon is habitable, what can be rebuilt and who will pay for it. On Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell he said Israeli army “wiped out 37 entire villages.” Videos posted on social media show Israeli forces carrying out controlled explosions, damaging or destroying at least nine religious sites and flying the Israeli flag over at least one city.

Last week, at the back of a beach hotel in Tire, Lebanese TV journalists held their ground, ready to go live despite fears that Israel might attack them (many knew the three journalists he died 70 km away in Hasbayi last month). They had a view along the coast and could see smoke rising from airstrikes or when Hezbollah fired rockets in the opposite direction. At one point, they pointed to what they identified as white phosphorus, distinctive for the trails it makes in the sky.

White phosphorus is a chemical that can stick on the skin and ignites when exposed to oxygen. It can cause breathing problems or deep burns, or even death. A mother from southern Lebanon told The Irish Times that her daughter had breathing problems after accidentally playing with her following the Israeli attack.

AND June report Human Rights Watch described Israel’s use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon as “widespread,” saying it had verified its use “in at least 17 municipalities in southern Lebanon since October 2023, including five municipalities where explosive munitions were unlawfully used over populated residential areas.” International lawyers say the use of white phosphorus is generally prohibited in civilian areas.

One of the journalists on duty in Tire was Hussein Ezzddine, a 44-year-old from the area who works for Iran’s al-Alam TV news channel.

He said civilians remained in southern Lebanon because “they have this mindset: ‘this is our land, we will not leave it, whatever happens.’ And some of these people have no place to stay, so if they leave their homes, they will end up homeless on the streets. They prefer to die with dignity in their own home.”

His words were pierced by two sonic booms, one of the methods used by Israel uses to intimidate the people of Lebanon. They are caused by Israeli jets flying quickly at low altitudes and sound similar to explosions.