CHRISTIAN leaders in Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre called on the international community and Lebanese officials today to act quickly to prevent Israel from attacking the city’s Christian district.

This came as air strikes on nearby neighbourhoods killed eight people and wounded dozens and followed a declaration by US President Donald Trump that the war against Iran was in its “final throes,” with a peace deal imminent.

An evacuation warning for Tyre, including the Christian quarter, has been issued by the Israeli military.

The statement by the Christian leaders was from George Iskandar, the metropolitan archbishop of Tyre for the Melkite Greek Catholic church; Elias Kfoury, the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Tyre, Sidon and Dependencies; and Charbel Abdullah, the head of the Maronite Catholic archeparchy of Tyre.

The Israeli warning prompted hundreds of people to flee the Christian district along the Mediterranean coast, the Lebanese National News Agency said.

An Israeli air strike on another neighbourhood of Tyre killed eight people and wounded 32 today, according to the Health Ministry.

The three Christian leaders called on the international community and Lebanese leaders to “take immediate and serious action to spare the old quarter of Tyre from destruction and human tragedies.”

Over the past few weeks, Israel’s air strikes have caused wide destruction in Tyre, the country’s fourth-largest city.

Iran has insisted that the ceasefire deal reached with the US in April also included the conflict in Lebanon, but Israel has never accepted this and claims to be exercising its right to “self-defence” against Hezbollah.

Although the conflict in Lebanon threatens the ceasefire, Mr Trump has insisted that a deal between Israel and Iran is imminent and that the two sides will cease attacks on each other.

He told reporters on Monday night that the US was “in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal.”

The US president added that the Strait of Hormuz would open “immediately upon signing,” which he said could happen in two or three days.

Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref said its operation against Israel in recent days, dubbed Nasr (Victory), showcased “a new level of deterrence from mighty Iran” and that Israel had been “forced to beg once again” for a ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the fire against Iran was currently “on hold,” but he warned that if Iran “makes the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force.”