Israel kills at least 254 people in massive wave of strikes across Lebanon

A massive wave of Israeli strikes hit Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 254 people, just hours after a ceasefire between Iran and the US was agreed.

Lebanon’s Civild Defense said at least 1,165 people were wounded across the country, with the capital Beirut hit by the most violent bombardment since the start of the current war.

The Israeli military carried out several simultaneous strikes on central Beirut and its suburbs without warning, triggering widespread panic on the capital’s streets.

A series of air strikes were also launched in several areas in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa in the east.

Bulldozers were clearing rubble from the streets to make way for ambulances transporting dozens of people to hospitals across Beirut.

"The [Israeli army] completed the largest coordinated strike targeting approximately 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites in 10 minutes," the military said in a statement.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the surprise attack was the largest blow against Hezbollah since a 2024 operation involving pager bombs.

The attack came despite a deal for a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Hezbollah's ally.

The Lebanese group has not claimed any operations against Israel since 1 am, around the time the ceasefire took hold.

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The Israeli army’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson said on X that the operation was "planned for several weeks", adding that most of the targeted sites were located "within civilian areas".

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an Israeli air strike targeted a cemetery in the Beqaa Valley village of Shmestar, killing at least 10 people and wounded four others in attendance.

Three girls were reportedly killed in an attack on the coastal town of Adloun, while eight were killed and 22 wounded in a strike in the city of Saida.

Iran warned that it would withdraw from the newly signed ceasefire agreement if attacks on Lebanon continued.

An unidentified Iranian official was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying they would also consider resuming attacks against Israel over the "violations of the temporary ceasefire in Lebanon."

Lebanon’s health ministry earlier issued an emergency appeal for people to clear the roads in Beirut for ambulances, as heavy traffic caused by the attacks hindered rescue efforts.

The Beirut Doctors Syndicate said the capital's hospitals have been inundated with casualties.

Elias Challala, who helms the group, issued a plea to “all doctors, each within their specialty, to go to hospitals to provide assistance following the large number of injuries caused by the air strikes, to fulfil their medical and humanitarian duty".

Ceasefire violations

Hours before the attacks, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire based on an Iranian proposal that included halting attacks on Lebanon.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who otherwise approved the ceasefire – was quick to assert that the agreement did not cover Lebanon.

Later on Wednesday, Trump also appeared to confirm that Lebanon was not part of the deal, saying it was instead a "separate skirmish".

Hezbollah joined the Israel-US war on Iran on 2 March by firing a barrage of rockets over the border into Israel.

Since then, Israel has launched a ground invasion of Lebanon that has been seen as a prelude to permanent occupation of the south of the country.

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Lebanon's prime minister on Wednesday called for the country's allies to come to their aid to stop the Israeli attacks.

Reuters also reported that Iran attacked Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline hours after the ceasefire was agreed, citing an industry source.

According to the source, damage to the pipeline, which is currently the kingdom's only crude oil export route, is being assessed. 

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Wednesday it had hit several targets across the region with missiles and drones, including what the IRGC called oil facilities of US companies in Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia.

The exact timing of the attack was not immediately clear nor the extent of any damage or the impact on the pipeline's operations.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said he had discussed Israel’s “violations of the ceasefire in Iran and Lebanon” in a phone call with Pakistan, which brokered the ceasefire between the US and Iran.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that violations of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran were undermining the spirit of the peace process and called for restraint.

Hezbollah had earlier urged displaced residents in Lebanon not to return to their homes until a formal ceasefire was announced.

Meanwhile, Spain summoned the Israeli charge d'affaires in Madrid on Wednesday to protest the "unjustifiable detention of a Spanish soldier" from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) by the Israeli army.

Unifil reported the incident on Tuesday, without revealing the peacekeeper's nationality, and explained on X that Israeli forces had detained a member of the peacekeeping force "after blocking a logistics convoy", who was released in "less than an hour".

Israeli forces also fired warning shots at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, according to the Italian government, damaging a vehicle but causing no injuries.

'Everybody knows'

Trump said that "everyone knows" a truce in Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal.

"Yeah, they were not included in the deal," Trump reportedly said in a phone call with PBS's White House correspondent, Liz Landers. "That'll get taken care of, too. It's alright," he said.

He added that the Israeli strikes in Lebanon were "part of the deal – everyone knows that,

"That's a separate skirmish. Okay?" he said.

His remarks contradict statements made by Sharif, who asserted that the agreement covered “all fronts, including Lebanon”.