Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 182 in Central Beirut Amid Ceasefire with Iran

strikes targeted busy commercial and residential areas in central Beirut on Wednesday, resulting in at least 182 deaths and 890 injuries according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The attacks marked the highest single-day death toll in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war, which began on March 2. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced across Lebanon since the conflict's outbreak. The strikes hit the Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential district, without prior warning.

Associated Press journalists observed charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at a busy intersection. Rescue workers used forklifts to remove debris and search for survivors amid smoldering apartment buildings. Israel's military described the operation as its largest coordinated strike in the current war, targeting over 100 Hezbollah sites including missile launchers, command centers, and intelligence infrastructure within 10 minutes.

The strikes extended to southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley. No Hezbollah counterstrikes against Israel were reported in the initial hours following the attacks.

The strikes followed a U.

-brokered ceasefire announcement in the Israel-Iran war earlier on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the agreement excluded Lebanon due to Hezbollah's involvement, describing the situation there as a separate skirmish.

Israel maintained that the truce does not cover its conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Iran and mediator Pakistan asserted that the ceasefire applies to the Lebanon conflict. A Hezbollah official, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, indicated the group had not adhered to the ceasefire because Israel was not complying and would not accept a return to pre-March 2 conditions of frequent Israeli strikes.