Israel launched fresh strikes on Tyre, Lebanese state media said, after the Israeli military told swathes of the southern city to evacuate and following an earlier raid that killed seven people, AFP reports.

The National News Agency (NNA) reported “a series of strikes” on the ancient coastal city, beginning with a raid on a residential apartment.

An AFP video journalist reported thick clouds of smoke covering parts of Tyre, including rising from a building along the seafront.

The fresh strikes came after a raid in the centre of the city killed seven people and wounded 17 others, according to a health ministry statement.

The AFP video journalist saw emergency personnel rush a survivor to an ambulance on a stretcher, while other rescuers worked to put out a fire at the site, where a residential apartment block had collapsed.