Chaos gripped the country on Wednesday following “the largest operation” carried out by Israel against Hezbollah since the “pager attack,” as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz boasted.
The Israeli army said it had launched its “widest campaign of strikes” on Lebanon since the start of its war on March 2, claiming it had bombed “multiple regions simultaneously within 10 minutes, targeting 100 Hezbollah military sites and infrastructure.”
These strikes, carried out in Beirut, the Bekaa, and the South, targeted “intelligence centers” belonging to the party, “infrastructure linked to Hezbollah’s firing systems and naval capabilities,” as well as other sites belonging to “the Radwan Force and Hezbollah’s ‘Unit 127’ air unit, considered elite units,” Israel claimed.
The Health Ministry called on citizens to “clear the way for emergency services” following strikes on the capital and its southern suburbs. It also said that “traffic jams caused by the wave of attacks, unprecedented in their number and intensity, are hampering rescue operations.”
Within Beirut itself, the Israeli strikes notably hit Ain al-Mreisseh, Barbour, Corniche al-Mazraa, and Burj Abi Haidar. Early in the evening, a strike also hit Tallet al-Khayyat, destroying an entire building.
In southern Lebanon, Israel launched strikes on the cities of Sour, Saida, and Nabatieh, as well as the villages of Adloun, Bazourieh, Abbassieh, Zefta, Qsaybeh, Bedias, Sir al-Gharbieh, Ansar, Ain Baal, Sharqieh, Baissariyeh, Batoulieh, Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, Houmin, Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr, and Ansarieh, our correspondent reported.
The al-Zahraa complex in Saida was also hit, killing and wounding at least 15 people. Sheikh Sadek Naboulsi, a political science professor and media figure affiliated with Hezbollah, was killed. An Israeli strike on Tayr Debba also targeted the Imad Mughnieh complex.
In the Bekaa, several strikes hit the city of Baalbeck, as well as the towns of Shmustar, Hermel, Karak, Ferzol, Bouday, and Sohmor (West Bekaa). Several people were reported injured in Hermel.
Hezbollah responds in statement
The Israeli army reiterated on Wednesday that the cease-fire between Iran and the United States does not apply to the Lebanese front.
At dawn, a series of strikes on southern Lebanon killed several people, particularly in targeted strikes on vehicles. In a post on X, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said that “fighting is ongoing” in Lebanon and renewed his call for residents of the South to evacuate all areas south of the Zahrani River.
Hezbollah has, for now, suspended its attacks. In a statement issued Wednesday, it nevertheless condemned Israeli strikes on “civilian areas,” accusing the Israeli army of carrying out “a series of massacres against innocent civilians.” It described the strikes as “clear war crimes and acts of genocide,” saying they amounted to “a desperate attempt to take revenge on civilians after failing to break this proud people and subdue them.”
Lebanese Army urges displaced not to return south
The Lebanese Army on Wednesday morning called on displaced residents not to return to the South, where strikes are ongoing.
The army also blocked a road leading to southern Lebanon at Burj Qalaway, between the districts of Sour and Nabatieh, to prevent displaced residents from returning, according to our correspondent. An AFP correspondent in the Sour area observed a small number of people driving back toward areas they had fled at the start of the war.
Massacres in Srifa and Saida
Before the escalation in the afternoon, earlier Israeli strikes had already killed around 20 people, according to initial figures from rescue teams. In Srifa, a bombardment caused what was described as a massacre, killing at least 10.
Also in the Sour district, an Israeli drone strike targeted a motorcycle, killing its driver. A similar strike on Ras al-Ain killed two more people, while another vehicle was hit in Qasmieh. A similar attack also caused casualties in Siddiqine.
Israeli aircraft also struck a building in Shabriha that had been threatened twice in recent hours. In the Nabatieh district, two bodies were recovered from the rubble of a house hit in Kfar Tibnit. Overnight, a strike on Saida’s seafront killed at least nine people, eight of whom were displaced from Shebaa (Hasbaya).
In Saida, Ali Kheireddine, the owner of a café where eight people were killed the previous day, had barely had time to process what happened when another strike was announced. This time, al-Sayida Zahraa complex, a Shiite place of worship just steps from the café, was hit.
The strike killed Sheikh Sadek Naboulsi, a political and religious figure well known among Hezbollah’s support base. “I’m still in shock. I still haven’t understood what happened,” Ali said moments before the new Israeli strike, the sound of which immediately forced him to his feet.
Within seconds, panic returned to Saida. Ambulance sirens rang out as onlookers rushed to the scene to take photos. Drivers were stuck in heavy traffic while local authorities tried to ease congestion. Tension was palpable everywhere. Minutes after the strike, another wave of panic swept through the crowd gathered near the targeted complex as reports of a second strike spread, which later proved false.
Overnight, rescue workers were also targeted several times. Two vehicles belonging to the Islamic Health Committee, affiliated with Hezbollah, were struck — the first in Qleileh, wounding four paramedics, and the second in Qabrikha (Marjayoun). An artillery shell was fired near a Lebanese Red Cross team evacuating bodies in Mansouri (Sour), though no injuries were reported. In Abbassieh, a strike on a building caused heavy damage to the nearby Hiram Hospital.
The Israeli army also released a resident of Ain Ibl overnight, identified by the initials M.S., whom it had captured on the outskirts of the village.
Additional reporting by Muntasser Abdallah.
