Massive Israeli Assault on Lebanon Threatens U.S.-Iran Ceasefire

Over 250 people were killed in what the Israeli military said was the “largest coordinated strike” on Lebanon since March 2.

By Lylla Younes, Drop Site

BEIRUT, Lebanon—At 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, Dalia, 38, was at a gym down the street from her home in the Karakas neighborhood in central Beirut when a series of massive airstrikes rocked the city.

One of the strikes hit just up the street, along the stretch of road between her apartment and the gym—a route she walks every day. The blast was so forceful it shook the building and left her ears ringing for hours. Her first thought was her daughter, who was at a basketball court across the street. When Dalia ran outside, she immediately saw thick smoke rising in the air. She sprinted to the court and found her daughter crying alongside other children.

“All the children were traumatized,” she said.

The strikes were part of a sweeping Israeli aerial bombardment campaign across Lebanon on Wednesday that came just hours after a U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement was announced by President Donald Trump. In a span of 10 minutes, Israel hit over 100 targets across the country, including many in densely populated neighborhoods of Beirut and its southern suburbs.

According to Lebanon’s Civil Defense, at least 254 people were killed and over 1,100 wounded in the attacks. The vast majority of the casualties were in the capital and its southern suburbs, with over 150 killed.

The Israeli assault came without warning and was by far the heaviest single wave of attacks on Lebanon over the past five weeks. In Beirut, the speed and scale of the bombardment stunned a population that has experienced successive wars, but rarely like this: strikes landing almost simultaneously, in broad daylight, while the streets were crowded. Thick black smoke billowed across the city as the sound of ambulances echoed through the streets. Authorities urged residents to remain indoors to allow emergency responders to move through the traffic-clogged roads. Dalia said the shock has yet to settle. “It’s surreal,” she said. “Did this really happen? Was it really this close to home? I really don’t think I’ve processed it yet.”