Trump says in ‘final throes’ of peace deal but at least 8 killed in Tyre

Israeli attacks on Tyre in southern Lebanon have killed at least eight people and forced thousands to flee, just hours after United States President Donald Trump insisted a peace deal with Iran was imminent.

The Israeli military issued yet another forced displacement order for Tyre on Tuesday, telling the entire city – including, for the first time, the Christian quarter where many displaced people are sheltering – to leave immediately, before launching its deadly attack.

Tyre has been repeatedly attacked in recent days, with five killed on Monday and four paramedics among those wounded. At least nine people were killed by Israeli attacks elsewhere in Lebanon on Monday.

Trump has said he is in the “final throes of what will be a very, very good deal”, which comes in the wake of a significant escalation between Israel and Iran that ended on Monday.

Trump told reporters late on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz would open “immediately upon signing”, which he said could be in two or three days.

He added that the US could “very easily” spend another two or three weeks bombing, leaving Iran with nothing, but that would delay the strait opening. He claimed that the US naval blockade on Iran had “turned out to be much stronger than bombing” in making Iran want a deal.

The latest escalation was prompted by Israel’s bombardment of Beirut on Sunday, which prompted Iran to launch missiles at northern Israel. Trump reportedly called Netanyahu to ask him not to retaliate, but Israel launched its attacks on Iran early on Monday. The US president said the missiles were “already on their way” when he spoke to the Israeli prime minister.

Israeli forces struck Iranian air defence systems and a petrochemical plant, while Iran retaliated by hitting a similar facility in Haifa and targeting two Israeli airbases.