Israeli missiles hit several dense commercial and residential areas in Lebanon on Wednesday without warning, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The Israeli military called it the “largest coordinated strike” in the current conflict, striking more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 112 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded.
It comes after US President Donald Trump announced he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran, which would see a pause in military strikes against Iran and a reopening of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Israel has said it has agreed to the ceasefire, but that it does not apply to its conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump also said Lebanon was “not included” in the ceasefire deal. In a brief telephone interview with PBS News Hour, he said that this was “because of Hezbollah”.
“They were not included in the deal. That’ll get taken care of, too. It’s all right”, he added.
When asked about Israel continuing its strikes in Lebanon, he said, “It’s part of the deal — everyone knows that. That’s a separate skirmish.”
However, other nations, including Pakistan, which helped with negotiations, have claimed the deal does include Lebanon.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, posted on X: “I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict”.
Sharif said violations of the ceasefire had been reported in a several places.
Sources close to Hezbollah have told ITV News that the Strait of Hormuz will not open if the Israeli attacks in Lebanon continue.
Iran is a close ally of Hezbollah, and one of their main conditions for a ceasefire is an end to all attacks, including on Lebanon.
ITV News reported earlier that a senior government figure in Iran said they are in contact with Pakistan to demand that Israel is committed to the ceasefire.
“Lebanon was part of it as it was stated in the tweet of Pakistani PM,” the source told ITV News.
Christopher Stokes, MSF emergency coordinator in Lebanon, said: “Our teams are responding to mass influx of injured patients, including children, at Rafik Hariri Public Hospital, Beirut. Patients are arriving with shrapnel injuries and heavy bleeding.
“One patient arrived to the hospital having lost both legs. The situation is chaotic as more people are brought in. MSF teams are mobilizing and sending more support to other hospitals in impacted areas.”
He added: “Continuous attacks on civilians must stop. Healthcare facilities, staff and patients need to be protected. The repeated forcible displacement of people – a war crime – needs to stop.”
Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs Haneed Sayed condemned Israel’s wide range of strikes, telling the Associated Press it is a “very dangerous turning point” in the conflict.
“These hits are now at the heart of Beirut … Half of the sheltered (internally displaced persons) are in Beirut in this area,” she said on Wednesday.
She also said Lebanon’s government is ready to enter into negotiations with Israel for an end to hostilities, adding: “There are calls and efforts being made as we speak”.
Israel has not yet responded.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of escalating at a moment when Lebanese officials were seeking to negotiate a solution, and of hitting civilian areas in “utter disregard for the principles of international law and international humanitarian law – principles it has, in any case, never respected.”
Israel’s military said it had targeted missile launchers, command centers and intelligence infrastructure and accused Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields.
“The State of Lebanon and its civilians must refuse Hezbollah’s entrenchment in civilian areas and its weapons build-up capabilities,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Before the wave of new strikes, a Hezbollah official told the Associated Press that the group was giving a chance for mediators to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, but “we have not announced our adherence to the ceasefire since the Israelis are not adhering to it.”
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly.
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