BEIRUT, (PIC)
Hundreds of people were feared dead and injured Wednesday when the Israeli occupation army struck more than 100 sites “within 10 minutes” across Lebanon, including crowded commercial and residential areas in Beirut.
The massive attacks, which disregarded the US-Iran ceasefire, were described by the Israeli army as the “largest” coordinated strike since the start of its current offensive against Lebanon.
An Israeli military statement claimed the attacks targeted Hezbollah-linked sites in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon. Israel’s Channel 12 said one of the targets in Wednesday’s attacks was Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem.
Residents and local officials denied that the buildings hit were military sites, saying several strikes hit busy commercial and residential areas, sparking panic in the streets.
Black smoke rose over several parts of the capital as explosions shattered the afternoon bustle. Ambulances rushed toward bombed areas, apartment buildings were hit, and emergency crews started searching through rubble and charred vehicles.
Casualty figures were not immediately clear, but the Lebanese Red Cross said the number of casualties was “very big.”
Hundreds have been killed and wounded in the strikes, according to the health ministry, which have leveled entire residential blocks across Beirut and its southern suburbs, southern Lebanon, and several towns and villages in the eastern Beqaa region.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that at least five neighborhoods in central and coastal Beirut were struck.
Social affairs minister Hanin Sa’eid condemned the wide-ranging strikes as a “very dangerous turning point,” noting that half of the displaced population in Beirut lived in the bombed areas.
Georges Kettaneh, secretary general of the Lebanese Red Cross, described the situation as “catastrophic,” with many victims still trapped under rubble and entire buildings collapsed in multiple areas, according to the local MTV television channel.
He added that patients are being evacuated from hospitals in Beirut to facilities outside the capital to make room for casualties from the last strikes.
Hospitals across the country have been overwhelmed, with the health ministry issuing urgent appeals for blood donations.
“Hospitals are packed beyond capacity with victims,” health minister Rakan Nasruddin said.
The assault came despite an announced two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, which Israel said does not apply to Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, some displaced Lebanese families had begun packing their belongings and preparing to return home after news of the truce, but the renewed strikes, coupled with Israeli statements that operations would continue, left many confused and in fear.
