The Israeli raids on Lebanon are the heaviest in several weeks, striking both the capital Beirut and the south of the country. Iran threatens repercussions.
The Israeli army has expanded its military offensive in Lebanon on the very first day of the ceasefire with Iran. Hundreds of raids struck several neighbourhoods of Beirut and other areas in the south of the country, and the death toll is difficult to quantify given that entire city blocks have been razed to the ground.
Israel said it targeted sites linked to the Lebanese organisation Hezbollah, but videos circulating online show that children are also buried under the rubble. Shortly after the ceasefire with Iran was reached, Israeli authorities made clear they did not consider Lebanon to be part of the agreement. Since 28 February, when Israel resumed its bombardment of Lebanon, the death toll has already risen to over 1,500 people and more than one million displaced.
With the start of the Israeli-American bombing campaign on Iran on 28 February and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Israeli army also launched a military offensive against Lebanon. Using the justification of striking Hezbollah — the political-military organisation allied with Iran that had fired several rockets into Israeli territory — Tel Aviv carried out attacks against both the south of the country and the capital Beirut, eventually hitting the city centre as well, definitively breaking the ceasefire signed in autumn 2024.
In just over a month of bombing, Israel has killed over 1,500 people and caused more than one million to flee their homes. In the meantime it has continued its military offensive against Iran alongside the United States, itself sustaining considerable damage and recording 31 casualties from Iranian missiles and drones that managed to bypass the Iron Dome missile shield. During the night between 7 and 8 April, Israel was included in the ceasefire agreement reached between the United States and Iran, brokered by Pakistan and China. The deal provides for a two-week halt to the bombing and the progressive reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed to shipping — triggering a severe domino effect on the price of oil and, consequently, on economies around the world.
Iran, the United States and Iran are now engaged in negotiations aimed at bringing the war to a definitive end. A situation that does not, however, apply to Lebanon, which Israeli authorities have said they do not consider part of the ceasefire agreement — and which they have struck with devastating raids in recent hours.
The Israeli army said that on 8 April it carried out the heaviest offensive against Lebanese territory in several weeks, with over one hundred strikes launched in the space of just ten minutes. The military leadership in Tel Aviv also added that the objective is to continue striking the country "with determination".
The bombardments struck the capital Beirut in particular, hitting both the Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs and the city centre close to the seafront. Images circulating online show entire buildings razed to the ground, black smoke rising from multiple points, children trapped under rubble, and ambulances stuck in traffic congested by the fleeing population. Al Jazeera's correspondent in the capital said the attacks recalled the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982, and at least nine neighbourhoods were struck simultaneously.
In the south of the country, the Israeli army struck mainly with ground attacks after troops invaded part of the territory in recent weeks. From the early hours of the morning Hezbollah did not respond to Israeli strikes, but this did not halt the offensive of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which analysts say could intensify raids on Lebanon by exploiting the pause in the war with Iran. The Lebanese Ministry of Health issued a statement calling on the population to clear the streets so that ambulances could reach the sites of Israeli bombardments, while hospitals put out appeals for blood donations. From Iran, meanwhile, a senior military official stated that the ceasefire signed overnight with the United States and Israel should have covered the entire region, and that Israel would pay a heavy price for its offensive on Lebanese territory in recent hours.
