Tyre alert is a Netanyahu signal to Trump despite efforts to scale back strikespublished at 09:09 BST

09:09 BST

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor

The evacuation warning issued for the southern Lebanese city of Tyre is significant because, for the first time, it includes the city's Christian quarter.

According to the map published by the Israeli military, the warning covers most of the city.

Why now? It appears to be a signal from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military that while Donald Trump may have curtailed further attacks on Beirut, Israel retains the ability to strike southern Lebanon hard.

Iran continues to insist that developments in Lebanon are linked to any potential agreement in the Gulf.

Netanyahu has rejected that as an unacceptable equation. But Trump is, in effect, acknowledging the connection because he is keen to secure a deal, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and then move on to other priorities.

It is difficult to imagine Israel passively accepting what it sees as a new status quo being created by Iran and its allies. Israel is likely to challenge any suggestion that Iran can deter it militarily.

What is becoming clear is that this war is reshaping the Middle East - but not in the way Israel and the United States expected when they launched military action against Iran on 28 February.

Image source, Reuters

After exchanging fire on Sunday for the first time since April's truce, Iran and Israel say they have halted attacks on each other after Donald Trump urged both countries to stop "shooting" immediately.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address on Monday his country was holding fire "at the moment". But he stressed that the struggle against Iran and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon was "not finished".

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Tel Aviv was stopping attacks on Iran "at Trump's request", citing a senior Israeli official. Its defence minister Israel Katz said operations would continue in Lebanon.

Iran's military said it had stopped operations following the delivery of a "painful response" to Israel. It threatened "severe" measures if Israel carried out more strikes, including in Lebanon.

And Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X that the country would "not retreat in the face of any threat".

Separately, Trump said Israel and Iran are looking to do an "immediate ceasefire" and that things should move quickly.

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday night the US and Iran were in the "final throes" of a deal "that will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons".

The president has made similar statements about the proximity of an agreement between the two countries at various points in the conflict since the April ceasefire.

While speaking to reporters at JFK Airport in New York, Trump said it would be "a very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons".

"And the Strait will open up right away - they'll open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days," he said.

The president said Iran and Israel had agreed to stop fighting and "call it quits" after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu "hit back" at Iran following Sunday's strikes.

"They're going to leave each other alone for another week or something," he said.

Image source, Israel Defense Forces/X

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is telling residents in the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon to urgently leave their homes.

The military is warning people, including those living in the city's Christian quarter and the surrounding camps, to evacuate and move north of the Zahrani river.

IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee writes on X that residents' "presence near Hezbollah elements... endangers your lives".

"Any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes may be subject to targeting," he adds.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency has reported artillery shelling this morning on the outskirts of Mansouri and Majdal Zoun in Tyre, but this has not yet been confirmed by the IDF.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces has issued an urgent evacuation order for the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

It comes a day after Iran said it would be stopping strikes on Israel but threatened a "severe" response if the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued striking southern Lebanon.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his country would hold off attacking Iran "for now", but warned "Iran makes the mistake and attacks us again - we will respond forcefully".

On Sunday, Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel marking the first since the April ceasefire. Israel retaliated, saying it struck military targets in western and central Iran.

Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel and Iran must stop "shooting" immediately, and that final negotiations for "peace" were proceeding, "subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way".

We'll bring you the latest developments on this story, including further details on the evacuation order, throughout the day.