First responders and residents stand amid rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike along Beirut’s Corniche al-Mazraa thoroughfare [Getty]
Israeli forces carried out mass attacks without warning across Lebanon on Wednesday, saying they launched 100 strikes in just 10 minutes in what marked the most intense wave of bombardment since the war began.
Hundreds have been killed and wounded in the strikes, according to the health ministry, which have levelled entire residential blocks across Beirut and its southern suburbs, southern Lebanon, and several towns and villages in the eastern Beqaa region.
The strikes hit densely populated areas across central and west Beirut, where commercial streets and residential neighbourhoods were targeted without prior warning, sending people fleeing in panic. The city is now sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people from south Lebanon and other regions.
Black smoke rose over large parts of the capital as explosions tore through busy districts. Ambulances raced towards burning buildings, while emergency teams searched through rubble and charred vehicles for survivors.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee described it as the largest wave of attacks since the start of the operation, claiming that 100 targets were hit in just 10 minutes.
Several towns in the Aley district in Mount Lebanon, including Keyfoun, Qmatiyeh, Bchamoun, Aramoun, and Choueifat, were also hit.
Southern coastal cities – including Sidon and Tyre and surrounding areas – were bombed, following an earlier wave of strikes across south Lebanon on Wednesday morning.
Israel’s Channel 12 said one of the targets in Wednesday’s attacks were Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem.
Hezbollah in a statement mourned the death of Lebanese political science professor Sadiq al-Nabulsi.
The full scale of casualties was not immediately clear, as firefighters and paramedics worked to retrieve the bodies of victims and rescue wounded. But the Lebanese Red Cross said the number of dead and injured was “very big.”
Hospitals across the country have been overwhelmed, with the health ministry issuing urgent appeals for blood donations.
“Hospitals are overflowing with victims,” Health Minister Rakan Nasreddine said.
The assault came despite a newly announced two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which Israel said does not apply to Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, some displaced families had begun packing their belongings and preparing to return home after news of the truce, but the renewed strikes, coupled with Israeli statements that operations would continue, left many confused and in fear.
“We can’t take this anymore… the uncertainty,” one displaced resident said, after abandoning plans to return home due to fears of further attacks.
Israel has continued to frame its campaign as targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, while accusing the group of operating within civilian areas. However, the scale and location of Wednesday’s strikes have once again exposed densely populated neighbourhoods to heavy bombardment.
The war, which resumed on 2 March, has already killed more than 1,500 people in Lebanon and displaced over one million, with large parts of the country now facing an escalating humanitarian crisis.
