Israeli warplanes struck several densely populated commercial and residential districts in central Beirut on Wednesday afternoon, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the wider U.S.-Israel war with Iran, in an attack Lebanese officials described as a dangerous escalation.
Israel had made clear that any arrangement linked to Iran did not automatically apply to its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. But Pakistan, which has played a mediating role in the broader regional diplomacy, had indicated the ceasefire should extend to the Lebanese front as well, underlining the confusion that surrounded the latest truce efforts.
The Israeli military described the bombardment as its largest coordinated strike of the current war, saying it hit more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley. Reuters and earlier Associated Press reporting said Israel had already signaled it would continue striking Hezbollah targets even as diplomacy advanced elsewhere in the region.
Black smoke rose over several parts of the Lebanese capital as explosions tore through what had been a busy afternoon. Ambulances rushed toward the blast sites, apartment buildings were damaged and emergency workers searched through burned-out vehicles. Lebanon’s National News Agency said at least five neighborhoods in Beirut’s central and coastal districts were hit. The full casualty toll was not immediately clear, but earlier AP reporting on the same wave of strikes said Lebanon’s health ministry recorded 182 dead and at least 890 wounded, making it one of the deadliest days in Beirut in the current conflict.
Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs, Haneen Sayed, condemned the strikes in comments to the Associated Press, calling them “a very dangerous turning point.” She said many of the areas hit were sheltering displaced people and warned that the attacks had reached the heart of Beirut at a moment when civilians were already under severe strain.
Sayed said Lebanon remained willing to enter negotiations with Israel to end hostilities, echoing earlier signals from Lebanese leaders that diplomacy remained possible despite the violence. As of Wednesday, there was no indication that Israel had accepted that offer.
A 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire only formally began on Thursday evening, according to the U.S. State Department and multiple news reports, suggesting Wednesday’s Beirut strikes occurred before the truce took effect, even as regional mediators tried to frame the fighting as moving toward de-escalation
