SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — Christian religious leaders from Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre on Tuesday called on the international community and Lebanese officials to act quickly to prevent Israel from attacking the city’s Christian district. Airstrikes on nearby neighborhoods killed eight people and wounded dozens of others, officials said.
The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for the port city, including the Christian quarter, which has been spared so far.
The statement by the Christian leaders was from George Iskandar, the metropolitan archbishop of Tyre for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church; Elias Kfoury, the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Tyre, Sidon and Dependencies; and Charbel Abdullah, the archeparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre.
Israeli warning leads to evacuations
The warning from Israel’s military prompted hundreds of people to flee the Christian district along the Mediterranean coast, while members of the Civil Defense evacuated older people to safer areas, the state-run National News Agency said.
Cars packed with mattresses, luggage and household belongings stretched for kilometers (miles) along Lebanon’s coastal highway, as residents fled Tyre following the latest Israeli warning. Traffic ground to a halt as families crammed whatever they could into vehicles, with carpets protruding from rooftops, and trunks left partially open to accommodate furniture and personal belongings.
“After t …