Israeli airstrikes hit Tyre targeting Hezbollah sites

Residents of Tyre sifted through what remained of their homes after Israeli air strikes hit the center of the city, saying it was targeting Hezbollah command and control centers there.

Huge clouds of smoke billowed above residential buildings in Tyre, a UNESCO-listed port city in south Lebanon, which Israel began bombing hours after issuing an order online telling residents to flee central areas.

Tens of thousands of people have already fled Tyre as Israel steps up its campaign to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both close allies of its arch Middle East enemy.

The port is typically a bustling hub for the south - with fishermen, tourists, and even UN peacekeepers on a break from deployments near the border spending time there by the sea. But Israel's evacuation orders this week for the city have for the first time encompassed swathes of it, including right up to its ancient castle.

Israel's offensive has driven at least 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes and killed 2,530 people, including at least 63 over the past 24 hours, the Lebanese government said.

Crowds of Palestinians gathered at a bakery in Gaza's Khan Younis, scrambling to get bread, with some families saying that they have to wait for hours, and at times having to walk away empty-handed.

The war between Israel and Hamas has devastated the Palestinian economy and left nearly all of Gaza's population in poverty, with quality of life indicators such as health and education knocked back 70 years, the United Nations' development agency said.

A global monitor said that the entire Gaza Strip remains at risk of famine and is experiencing emergency levels of hunger.

More than 42,792 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's ground offensive, according to Palestinian health ministry figures, and thousands more are thought to be buried under the rubble. Much of the coastal enclave has been destroyed and most of its 2.3 million population has been displaced.