Lebanese struggle to get by in an ancient city under Israeli evacuation order

A resident observes the destruction from his destroyed home in Tyre, Southern Lebanon on June 7, 2026. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption toggle caption Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR TYRE, Lebanon — Twelve miles north of Lebanon's border with Israel, the ancient coastal city of Tyre has become an unlikely battleground in Israel's war with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Tyre, one of Lebanon's biggest cities, is a coastal hub and in peacetime a thriving tourist destination. But in late May, before the current ceasefire began, Israel started targeting the entire city, apart from a small, largely Christian enclave on the seaside, saying it was hitting Hezbollah fighters. Thousands of people streamed into that neighborhood — the last relatively safe place in the city. Days later, Israel warned residents of the historic Christian neighborhood it could attack there too. The warning, which came without proof that Hezbollah was operating in the Christian quarter, left residents of the ancient city without any safe haven. Israeli airstrikes hit residential areas in Tyre on June 7, 2026. The escalation between Israel and Hezbollah has displaced more than one million people, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis and complicating ceasefire efforts. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption toggle caption Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR A resident walks through the nearly empty, ghost-like streets of Tyre during an evacuation warning on June 7, 2026. …