Lebanon's health minister says "hundreds dead and wounded" after Israel's attacks
Emergency responders work at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday
Hundreds of people have been killed and wounded in Israel’s strikes on Lebanon today, Lebanon’s health minister said, according to the country’s National News Agency.
Health minister Rakan Nassereddine said there are “hundreds dead and wounded” following Wednesday’s attacks, NNA reported.
The attacks included some of the most extensive Israeli strikes in the heart of Beirut in decades. Airstrikes targeted at least three areas in municipal Beirut, including a strike that hit close to the central seaside promenade, according to CNN’s analysis of video.
Municipal Beirut, which is predominantly Sunni and Christian, is infrequently targeted by Israel.
Another video showed a half-destroyed building in west Beirut with thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky. Ambulances have been sounding out sirens nearly nonstop since the attacks began, according to CNN reporters on the ground.
For context: At least 1,530 people have been killed and 4,812 wounded since the war began, according to the latest figures from Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which were released Tuesday before the latest widespread strikes carried out by Israel.
Israeli attacks hit nine neighbourhoods in Beirut
Our colleague on the ground in Beirut says Israel’s unprecedented wave of air strikes struck nine neighbourhoods in the Lebanese capital.
‘Scale of Israeli attacks on Beirut reminiscent of 1982’
Al Jazeera Arabic’s bureau chief in Lebanon says many in the capital have been reminded today of Israel’s invasion of Beirut in 1982.
As we’ve been reporting, Israel bombed nearly 10 locations in the Lebanese capital, outside of its southern suburbs, to which strikes are usually limited, and dozens of other locations across the country, all in the span of 10 minutes.
The Israeli army described the attacks as their heaviest on Lebanon since the conflict escalated on March 2.
‘So much destruction, many casualties’ in Lebanon: NRC chief
Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), says colleagues are “reporting horrifying scenes of so much destruction and many casualties” amid Israel’s intensified bombardment of Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.
“Israel and Hezbollah must commit to stopping their attacks, and Israel must withdraw from the Lebanese villages and territory it currently occupies,” he wrote on X. Egeland added that while the US-Iran ceasfire deal offers “a welcome reprieve for civilians across Iran, the Gulf and beyond”, it must not “be a short-lived window of hope before renewed violence”.
“All parties must commit to ending hostilities across the region beyond this two-week agreement. Lebanon must also be included.”
Ceasefire in Israel means escalation.
