Strikes hit eastern Lebanon’s main city Baalbek and near the southern city of Tire on Thursday, state media said, after Israel issued evacuation calls for both areas.

The airstrikes come as Lebanon’s prime minister condemns Israel for issuing warnings to evacuate entire areas and calls for diplomatic pressure to end its strikes more than a month after the start of the war.

The strikes on Al-Hawsh, near Tyre, destroyed six buildings, civil defense said, and coincided with an exodus of civilians from the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp near Tyre, also covered by the evacuation warning. , indicated the official National Press Agency.

“Enemy fighter jets” also hit Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers in Tyre, ANI said, adding that “the ambulance team trying to rescue” the crew was targeted twice.

The camp, located about five kilometers from Tyre, is one of the largest and most overcrowded in Lebanon.

ANI also reported that “Israeli planes launched four strikes” near Baalbek, after Israel issued evacuation warnings covering the main eastern city for the second day in a row.

Baalbek is famous for its annual international music festival, which sent an open letter calling for “swift action to end repeated attacks” on the city, which is also home to one of the largest Roman temple complexes in the world, classified as a world heritage site. Site classified by UNESCO.

So far the heritage site has not been affected, although it has been under an evacuation warning.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee published on X a call for the evacuation of the Rashidieh camp and other nearby villages and towns, asking residents to move “north of the Awali River .

– ‘Continuing escalation’ –

Earlier on Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that “the threats made by the Israeli enemy against Lebanese civilians to evacuate entire towns and leave their areas and homes constitute an additional war crime.”

He said he was “calling for increased pressure on Israel to end its aggression.”

On Wednesday, Mikati said U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein signaled in a phone call that a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah was possible before the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

Mikati said a ceasefire would be linked to the implementation of the United Nations resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Security Council Resolution 1701 stipulates that only the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers should be deployed in southern Lebanon, while demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.

“We are waiting for his news following his discussions” in Israel, Mikati said.

“Israel’s continued escalation, positions and threats leave no room for optimism, at least in the short term.”

His remarks came as Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli strikes on three sites in southern Lebanon had killed six rescuers affiliated with Hezbollah or its ally Amal.

Lebanon’s war began late last month, nearly a year after Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border fire on Israel in support of Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

At least 1,784 people have been killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes since September 23, according to an AFP count based on figures from the Ministry of Health.