A beach in Sour, from where smoke from an Israeli bombardment can be seen behind a nearby hill, Oct. 24, 2024. (Credit: Kawnat Haju/AFP)
On Monday, the Israeli army called on residents of an entire area of Sour, a thousand-year-old city in southern Lebanon, to evacuate in anticipation of imminent strikes.
In a message posted on X by the army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, residents of an area between Ali Khalil, Hiram, Mohammad Zayyat and Nabih Berri streets, to leave and “head north to the Awali River,” located north of Saida. “Anyone in the vicinity of Hezbollah members, installations and weaponry is risking his or her life,” the spokesperson added.
On the map accompanying this warning, a zone is identified in red. It is wider than the one that was called for evacuation last Wednesday in the same city and ends, to the east, at the edge of the archaeological site of the hippodrome. This Roman circus dates back to the first century A.D. and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To the south, this area is bounded by Nabih Berri Street, the official name of the promenade on the southern seafront of the peninsula on which the city is located. To the west, this zone ends at a block of buildings on another archaeological site, which includes Roman baths and the ancient Egyptian port.
Following the Israeli army's threats, members of the Sour municipality's Civil Defense and the Scouts of the Islamic Mission association, affiliated to the Amal movement, roamed the streets of the area, calling on local residents to “leave immediately,” according to information from our correspondent in the South.
Last Wednesday, a similar call was followed by several strikes.
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