The death toll in Lebanon exceeds 200 after Israel launched an attack despite the US-Iran ceasefire.
A wave of Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon on Wednesday, leaving at least 254 people dead and hundreds injured, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has condemned the escalation of violence, saying the latest attack amounts to a “massacre.”
The escalation continues despite a two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.
Approved by Pakistan, the agreement was meant to end the war that began when the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 – causing Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon, to attack Israel.
The war also led Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, shaking up world energy markets.
However, the terms of the cease-fire are disputed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the agreement would not stop the Israeli campaign in Lebanon.
Likewise, US President Donald Trump told PBS News that Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire “because of Hezbollah” but “will be taken care of.”
Emergency services were at the scene on Wednesday after an Israeli strike in Beirut’s Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood. Israel has said that the recently announced ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran does not apply to its fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite a Pakistani mediator’s assertion that the agreement covers Lebanon.
Asked if he was okay with Israel’s ongoing strikes, Trump said “That’s a different escalation,” PBS. News HourLiz Landers says so in a post on X after the interview.
Their comments clashed with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who said the agreement included a complete cessation of hostilities, particularly in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly told the Pakistani prime minister that the ceasefire in Lebanon is “an important condition” in the framework of the 10-point agreement with the United States, according to Iranian media.
On Wednesday afternoon, Tehran announced that it will close the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israel’s attack on Lebanon, Iranian media reports said.
US Vice President JD Vance said Iran does not fully understand what is part of the deal.
“I think the Iranians thought the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it didn’t,” Vance told reporters in Budapest. He added that Israel has agreed to exercise restraint in order for peace talks to succeed.
Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on Wednesday that three key points of the agreed framework had been violated before talks began on Friday in Pakistan, adding that in a situation like this, an end to hostilities or talks was pointless.
The violations include the violation of the cease-fire in Lebanon, the entry of “irrational aircraft” into Iranian airspace and the denial of Iran’s right to enrich uranium, he said in the X post.
Military pressure is increasing
According to Lebanon’s state news agency NNA, a series of explosions rocked Beirut as bombs hit several districts at once. In the south, the Israeli army continued its relentless attacks, including a pre-dawn airstrike near a hospital that killed four people.
The Israeli army also issued a series of emergency warnings to the citizens of Tyre, indicating plans to strike the southern city.
This follows what the military has described as the largest coordinated military strike to date.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said his government remains committed to separating the Iran conflict from the Lebanon war.
He said the aim is to change the reality on the ground and eliminate threats to the residents of northern Israel who have faced heavy fire throughout the war.
Backing this up, the Israeli Defense Forces chief vowed to “use every operational opportunity” to dismantle Hezbollah.
The attack on Lebanon drew concern from world leaders.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other world leaders issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling for a permanent deal.
“This will be very important to protect the citizens of Iran and ensure security in the region,” the leaders said in a statement issued by a spokesman for the Council of Europe.
They noted that a ceasefire “would avoid a major global energy crisis” and should include Lebanon.
The group also pledged to “participate in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” although it did not provide details on how that would be done.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk called the level of killing and destruction “shocking” in a statement. .
“Such massacres, a few hours after agreeing to end hostilities with Iran, are unbelievable. It puts a lot of pressure on the fragile peace, which the civilians need so much,” he said.
‘Dangerous transition zone’
A bomb blast in southern Lebanon on Tuesday forced a humanitarian aid convoy organized by the Vatican embassy to the besieged Christian city to turn back, a local priest told Reuters.
Thousands of Christians in several cities in southern Lebanon have stayed in their homes despite the fierce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, hoping that their cities will survive if they stay out of the conflict.
But clashes and Israeli airstrikes in the surrounding villages have made getting in and out of the towns extremely dangerous, and food, water and medicine are in short supply.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement on Wednesday that if the attack on Lebanon does not stop, a “sad response” will be faced by “aggressors” in the region, according to state media.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Israel’s attack against Lebanon as another attempt to drag the region into “total chaos.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, the Minister of Social Affairs in Lebanon, Haneen Sayed, described the strikes in the capital as “the most dangerous conditions to change the situation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel supports the US to stop fighting Iran but the agreement does not include fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“These hits are now in the center of Beirut…. Part of the protected area [internally displaced persons] from Beirut in this area,” said Sayed, noting that he recently drove to the affected areas.
He said the Lebanese government is willing to negotiate directly with Israel to end the conflict – a proposal made by the president earlier – but Israel has not yet responded.
“There are calls and efforts being made as we speak,” said Sayed.
