DaysofPal – At least eight people were killed and dozens injured early Thursday after an Israeli airstrike hit the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in one of several attacks reported across the country during a new wave of escalation.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the strike targeted the Ramlet al-Baida area on Beirut’s coast, killing eight people and wounding 31 others. The beachfront location had become a temporary refuge for hundreds of displaced residents who fled their homes in Beirut’s southern suburbs and parts of southern Lebanon after receiving Israeli evacuation warnings.
Separate Israeli strikes were reported in other areas of the country. Lebanese sources said an air raid targeted a residential apartment in Aaramoun, killing three people and injuring a child, according to the health ministry. Israeli authorities have not stated the attack.
Further south, two people were killed and six wounded when an Israeli strike hit the town of Deir Antar, the official National News Agency reported. Another attack on Burj al-Shamali killed four people and left nine others injured.
Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nasser El-Din said the recent Israeli bombardment has pushed the total death toll in Lebanon to more than 630 people over the past several days, including 91 children. More than 1,586 people have been wounded, with the toll expected to rise while air strikes continue.
Israeli warplanes carried out intense overnight attacks on Dahiyeh, a densely populated area that has been repeatedly targeted during the conflict. The Israel Defense Forces claimed the strikes hit ten sites linked to Hezbollah.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Lebanese authorities reported that Israeli air strikes on the southern suburbs wounded 17 people.
Hezbollah announces “The Devouring Storm” operation
In response to the attacks, Hezbollah announced a series of retaliatory strikes under the name Operation Al-Asf Al-Ma’koul.
Air raid sirens sounded across large areas of central Israel, including the Tel Aviv metropolitan region, parts of the coastal plain, and northern areas near Haifa. The alerts followed rocket and drone launches from Lebanon, alongside missiles fired from Iran toward central Israel.
Hezbollah said it launched a barrage of rockets at the Glilot Base. The group also reported targeting the Mount Meron Base with drones and striking the Ya’ara Barracks with additional unmanned aircraft.
Another statement said artillery shells were fired toward Israeli forces gathered at the Merkeva Site. Hezbollah also claimed a missile strike on Beit Lid Base, which hosts training camps for the Nahal Brigade and the Paratroopers Brigade.
The group added that drones targeted the Israeli settlements of Nahariya and Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.
The widening conflict has drawn Lebanon deeper into the regional confrontation that expanded after large-scale attacks launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28.
The violence intensified on March 2, when fighting spread to Lebanon following the assassination of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, according to regional reports.
Hezbollah said its cross-border attacks were carried out in response to that killing and to ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory despite a ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024.
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