Israel has launched a large-scale attack on Lebanon, striking over 100 sites in 10 minutes in its war against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, violating an ongoing ceasefire agreement. Areas targeted by the strikes include the Lebanese capital, Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon.
The Civil Defence, Lebanon’s emergency medical service, said that at least 254 people have been killed in the attacks, with another 1,165 wounded.
“We could hear a series of enormous, deep, booming explosions coming not just from the southern suburbs but many other parts of the city,” Al Jazeera’s senior correspondent Malcolm Webb reported, “Many of the locations were in places where nobody expected strikes to hit. It caused panic and chaos in the streets. Children were crying.”
Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam made a statement on X condemning Israel’s disregard for the principles of international and humanitarian law, accusing it of targeting residential neighbourhoods and unarmed civilians.
Hezbollah has condemned the attacks, stating that Israel targeted civilian areas, while Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri called the attacks a “full-fledged war crime”. Beirut has announced Thursday as a day of national mourning for the victims of the airstrikes.
Dahiya is the namesake for Israel’s 'Dahiya doctrine', which espouses the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure to pressure hostile governments.
Breaking Point of the Ceasefire
The attack began only hours after the US and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire, a month after the US and Israel launched their campaign on Iran.
Terms of negotiations included suspending all attacks on Iran, if shipping traffic resumed through the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire also included a 10-point plan which demanded the complete cessation of conflicts in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, among other terms.
Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the negotiations, has confirmed that Lebanon was included in the agreement.
However, both the US and Israel have claimed that Lebanon was not included in the terms of the agreement, following the attacks on Wednesday. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson believes these claims annul the agreement.
“The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments, a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again,” Iranian MP Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened a “regret-inducing response” if Israel continues their attacks on Lebanon, while Iranian media has reported that oil tankers attempting to pass through the strait are being stopped due to “Israel’s ceasefire breach”.
Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated Israel has “more goals to complete,” and that their “finger is on the trigger.”
The leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Britain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and the EU have made a joint statement supporting the ceasefire, urging a “swift and lasting end” to the war, calling upon all sides to implement the ceasefire, including in Lebanon. The EU Commission has also called on Israel to end its attacks on Lebanon.
Pakistani prime minister Sharif has urged all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire in a statement on X, and has invited the delegations to meet in Islamabad on Friday “to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.”
A damaged residential building in the suburb of Al Hosh, southern Lebanon.
Israel’s Displacement Campaign in Southern Lebanon
Since 2 March, Israeli air strikes have killed more than 1,530 people, wounded more than 4,400 and displaced more than 1.2 million, amounting to one-fifth of the country’s population.
On 12 March, Israel renewed its forced evacuations order in southern Lebanon extending more than 40km (eight per cent of Lebanon’s territory) from the border, reiterating that residents who do not flee the evacuation zone will face attacks.
“Shia residents of southern Lebanon who have evacuated… will not return to their homes south of the Litani area until the safety of Israel’s northern residents is guaranteed," Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on 16 March.
Only four days before the attack began on Wednesday, 18 Israeli lawmakers pressed the Netanyahu government to occupy and fully control southern Lebanon from up to the Litani River.
Between October 2023 and November 2024, the World Bank estimated that Israel caused approximately $2.8 billion in damage to residential buildings, with 99,000 homes destroyed.
According to International law, citizens cannot be forced to leave their homes, evacuation notices must be temporary, and people must be allowed to return to their homes.
Image Source: Reuters