Panic in Beirut as Israel carries out its most violent attacks on Lebanese capital
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had carried out a surprise attack on Wednesday targeting hundreds of Hezbollah members across Lebanon, calling it the largest blow against the group since a 2024 operation involving pager bombs.
It came despite a deal for a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Hezbollah’s backer Iran.
Simultaneous strikes on Beirut came without warning, prompting people on the street to start running and motorists to honk their horns in an effort to clear the way, according to AFP journalists.
‘I saw the blast, it was very strong, and there were children killed, some with their hands cut off,’ Yasser Abdallah, who works in an appliance store in central Beirut, told AFP.
Earlier, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the truce excluded his country’s fight with Hezbollah.
Israel renewed an evacuation order for an area more than 25 miles inside Lebanon, saying ‘the battle in Lebanon is ongoing’, before also reiterating its call for residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to leave.
