The Israeli strike's damage when it hit Ramada Hotel in Raouche, on March 8, 2026. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — An Israeli strike in the middle of Saturday night hit central Beirut for the first time since November 2024, targeting a room at the Ramada Hotel Beirut in Raouche, killing at least four people and injuring 10 others, according to the Health Ministry.
A projectile pierced a window and destroyed several rooms in the hotel. The Israeli army claimed the attack was a “precision strike.”
The facts
- The strike happened around 2:40 a.m., injuring passersby near the hotel, who were hit by shattered glass, including from damaged cars around the site.
- After the strike, dozens of panicked guests, many of whom were staying there after being displaced by intensifying Israeli attacks, fled the hotel.
- The Israeli army claimed it targeted commanders from the “Lebanon Corps” of the Quds Force, the external arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), without naming them or providing further details.
- According to local media, victims were taken to Al-Rassoul Al-Aazam Hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
- The firing was carried out by the Israeli navy, confirmed the Arabic-speaking army spokesperson Avichay Adraee.
Who was killed, and what is the 'Lebanon Corps' of the Quds Force?
On Sunday evening, the Israeli army claimed to have “targeted five senior officials of the ‘Lebanon Corps,’ an affiliate of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” who were gathered in a hotel room.
Three of them were high-ranking officers in this force:
Majid Hosseini, responsible for transferring funds to Iranian branches in Lebanon to finance the activities of Hezbollah, the Lebanon Corps, the Palestine Corps, Hamas, and “other entities.” “He also oversaw the financing and production of combat equipment to support Hezbollah’s military activities.”
Ali Reza Be’azar: head of the intelligence branch of the Lebanon Corps.
Ahmad Rasouli: head of intelligence within the Palestine Corps. He was responsible for gathering intelligence for Palestinian organizations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Two others were agents: Hussein Ahmadlou, an intelligence officer working on gathering information on Israel, and Abu Mohammad Ali, Hezbollah's representative in the Palestine Corps.
According to the Israeli army, the Guardians' "Lebanon Corps" is a "liaison body between Hezbollah and the Iranian regime."
It is primarily composed of Iranians residing in Lebanon. Its members are tasked with advising Hezbollah, and since the death of the party's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Sept. 27, 2024, and the devastating Israeli offensive of autumn 2024 that significantly weakened the party, Tehran has become more heavily involved in its decision-making.
The context
Since the joint large-scale Israeli-U.S. attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 launched a regional war, and prompted Hezbollah to join on March 2, Israel has repeatedly threatened Iranian diplomats and members of the IRGC in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government announced on Thursday measures to “arrest and repatriate” to Iran anyone in Lebanon with ties to the IRGC.
According to Axios, several dozen IRGC officers left Beirut over the weekend.
More than 150 Iranian nationals, including diplomats and family members, were evacuated from Lebanon to Russia on Saturday aboard a Russian aircraft, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters, adding that about 20 other Iranian nationals had departed the previous day.
On Friday, an Israeli strike targeted a building near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut's southern suburbs.
