Israeli forces have launched an intense bombardment across Lebanon, killing hundreds of people, hours after a two-week ceasefire was announced in the United States-Iran war.
Lebanon’s Civil Defence said at least 254 people were killed and 1,165 others were wounded in air strikes that targeted areas in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Mount Lebanon, Sidon, and several villages in southern Lebanon.
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The Israeli military said that the attack was its largest coordinated assault on Lebanon since it started a new military operation in the country on March 2, “targeting more than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites”.
In a written statement, the head of Lebanon’s syndicate of doctors, Elias Chlela, urgently called for “all physicians from all specialities” to head to any hospital they could to offer help, with one of Beirut’s biggest hospitals saying it needed donations of all blood types.
Here’s how the world has reacted to the attacks:
Lebanon
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called the attacks on densely populated areas a “full-fledged war crime.”
“Today’s crime, coinciding with the ceasefire agreement declared in the region — an agreement that Israel and its political and security apparatus have failed to uphold — is a serious test for the international community and a blatant challenge to all international laws, norms, and conventions, which Israel violates daily through its unprecedented campaign of human assassination in modern history,” Berri said.
“It is also a test for all Lebanese — political, religious, and civil leaders — to unite in solidarity with the martyrs. May God have mercy on the martyrs, grant a speedy recovery to the wounded, and protect Lebanon,” he added.
Hezbollah
The Lebanese armed group said it had a “right” to respond to the attacks.
“We affirm that the blood of the martyrs and the wounded will not be shed in vain, and that today’s massacres, like all acts of aggression and savage crimes, confirm our natural and legal right to resist the occupation and respond to its aggression,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told the news agency Reuters that the Israeli strikes were “a grave violation of the ceasefire”, adding there would be “repercussions for the entire agreement” if they continued.
Israel
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel “insisted on separating the war with Iran with the fighting in Lebanon in order to change the reality in Lebanon”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told a news conference that Israel would “continue to strike” Lebanon as the US-Iran ceasefire did not apply to Hezbollah.
Iran
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that it will respond to the attacks on Lebanon if Israel does not stop the assault.
“We issue a firm warning to the United States, which violates treaties, and to its Zionist ally, its executioner: if the aggression against beloved Lebanon does not cease immediately, we will fulfil our duty and deliver a response,” the IRGC said in a statement carried on Iran’s state-owned TV channel, using a reference to Israel.
In a post on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the terms of the ceasefire were “clear and explicit: the US must choose — ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both.”
“The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” he added.
Qatar
The foreign ministry condemned the “brutal series” of Israeli attacks on Lebanon that had killed hundreds of people, calling the attacks a “dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sister Lebanese Republic, the rules of international humanitarian law, and United Nations Security Council Resolution (1701).”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities by compelling the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their barbaric massacres and repeated attacks on Lebanon, and to hold them accountable for respecting international covenants and laws,” a statement posted on X read.
It added that Qatar was in “full solidarity” with Lebanon.
Egypt
The Ministry of Foreign Affiars called Israel’s attacks on Lebanon had a “premediatated intent” to undermine regional and international efforts to reduce escalation.
The ministry added that the attacks were an attempt by Israel to drag the region into “total chaos”.
Spain
In a post on X, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Netanyahu’s “contempt for life and international law is intolerable” in light of the attacks.
“It’s time to speak clearly: – Lebanon must be included in the ceasefire. – The international community must condemn this new violation of international law. – The European Union must suspend its Association Agreement with Israel. – And there must be no impunity for these criminal acts,” Sanchez said.
Italy
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he spoke to the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and expressed solidarity for the “unjustified and unacceptable attacks he is suffering from Israel.”
“We want to avoid there being a second Gaza. We will reiterate this concept to the Israeli Ambassador as well, whom I have summoned to the Farnesina. We condemn the bombings on the Lebanese civilian population, including the gunfire incidents suffered by our UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon] troops, for which we continue to demand guarantees of total safety. We must absolutely avoid any further expansion of the conflict that would jeopardise the ceasefire in Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Tajani added.
United Nations
The deputy spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Farhan Haq, said the UN “strongly condemns” Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
“The United Nations strongly condemns the strikes by Israel across Lebanon that resulted in significant civilian casualties,” said Haq.
“We continue to call on all sides to avail themselves of diplomatic channels, cease hostilities”, and use the new US-Iran ceasefire as an opportunity to prevent further loss of life,” he added.
