Deadly Israeli Airstrikes in Lebanon Leave Over 250 Dead

Smoke billows following an Israeli attack on Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have resulted in over 250 deaths and more than 1,100 injuries. In response, Hezbollah has launched rocket attacks targeting northern Israel. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described the massacre as “unbelievable and horrific.” (March 10, Kathmandu)

This marks Israel’s deadliest air assault since the conflict with Hezbollah began. On Wednesday, Lebanese civil defense authorities reported 254 fatalities and over 1,100 wounded according to Reuters. The health ministry confirmed 182 deaths nationwide but noted that these figures are preliminary. In Beirut alone, 91 people lost their lives.

Wednesday afternoon witnessed five successive large explosions accompanied by rising smoke plumes in the sky. The Israeli military stated that within ten minutes, over 100 military sites and command centers across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon came under coordinated attack. Meanwhile, Hezbollah accused Israel of violating a ceasefire and launched rockets into northern Israel’s Manara region. “Our response will continue as long as the Israeli-American assault against our country and people persists,” stated Hezbollah in an official release.

Hezbollah’s initial attack on Israel on March 2 triggered the intensification of Israeli military operations, including intensified air and ground strikes. Reuters highlighted that this development casts serious doubts on ongoing regional ceasefire efforts amid the crisis. While the currently active two-week ceasefire, brokered between the United States and Iran starting Wednesday, is supported by Israel, Israel has made clear that it will not halt operations in Lebanon.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that maintaining the ceasefire in Lebanon is a key condition for his country’s agreement with the United States. Local journalists reported that rescue efforts in Lebanon have been severely hampered by the latest Israeli attacks. Due to the shortage of ambulances, injured victims have been transported to hospitals by motorcycle. Major hospitals in Beirut have issued urgent calls for blood donations of all types. The airstrikes also destroyed several large buildings in the capital. Video footage shows rescuers using cranes to extract an elderly woman from the rubble of a collapsed building.