Satellite images show Israel’s destruction of historical city of Tyre

Newly evaluated satellite images show widespread destruction across the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre, following a relentless wave of Israeli air strikes after systematic forced displacement orders.

An analysis of the images by Al Jazeera’s open-source unit, which compared satellite data captured between January 4 and June 4, 2026, reveals a deliberate pattern of land-clearing and demolition. The imagery shows extensive bulldozing and levelling of entirely populated civilian blocks, turning multistorey residential complexes into flattened fields of rubble.

The devastation unfolds as Israel has enforced a “ Yellow Line ” policy, similar to Gaza, establishing a 10km-deep buffer zone along the border. Lebanese residents have been strictly barred from returning to the so-called military zone.

Situated just 11km (6.5 miles) from this exclusionary line, the ancient maritime city of Tyre, dating back nearly 5,000 years, has found itself on the front line of the military escalation.

The civil defence in southern Lebanon told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that at least six people were killed following the latest Israeli strikes on the town of Tayr Debba in the Tyre district. This comes a day after 20 people were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon despite a US-brokered ceasefire being in place.

More than 3,600 people have been killed and some 1.2 million have been displaced in the Israeli military offensive since March 2.

According to data provided by the Tyre municipality, the military action has taken a heavy toll on the city’s civilian infrastructure:

The visual evidence indicates that the destruction is spread across different quarters of the city’s urban fabric. The ongoing campaign mirrors the destructive patterns of the 2006 war, characterised by the flattening of entire neighbourhoods, significant civilian casualties and mass displacement.