Israel Conducts Largest Coordinated Airstrikes on Lebanon as U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Begins

Israel launched its heaviest airstrikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah began last month, striking more than 100 sites across the country within a 10-minute window on April 8, 2026, killing at least 254 people and wounding over 1,000, according to Lebanese authorities. The strikes hit central Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the eastern Bekaa Valley, including dense residential and commercial neighborhoods that had largely been spared in earlier phases of the conflict. Lebanon's civil defence service reported that 91 of the dead were killed in Beirut alone. The Israeli military described the operation as its largest coordinated strike against Hezbollah since the war broke out on February 28, 2026. The attacks came just hours after a two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran entered into force, triggering immediate international alarm over the fragility of the truce.

254 (people killed) — Lebanese death toll from April 8 Israeli strikes

Key events around the April 8 strikes: — ; — ; —

Washington and Tel Aviv insist Lebanon falls outside the truce Israel and the United States both stated that the ceasefire with Iran did not cover the separate conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, a position that drew sharp pushback from mediators and regional powers. U.S. President Donald Trump told PBS News Hour that Lebanon was not included in the deal and described Israel's strikes as "a separate skirmish." „If Iran wants this negotiation to fail because of a conflict in which they are getting thrashed in Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never said was part of the ceasefire, that is their choice” — JD Vance via Courrier international Donald Trump separately posted on Truth Social that U.S. troops would remain deployed near Iran until a "real agreement" was reached, warning that otherwise it "will fire harder than anyone has ever seen." Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, serving as a mediator in the conflict, rejected the U.S.-Israeli position, stating that the truce applies "everywhere, including in Lebanon," a stance that was subsequently disavowed by Tel Aviv and Washington. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated that a ceasefire in Lebanon constitutes one of the "essential conditions" of Iran's ten-point peace plan proposed to the United States. JD Vance announced he would lead the American delegation to Pakistan on Saturday, after Islamabad said it would host the parties for talks aimed at reaching a more permanent agreement beyond the two-week truce.

Beirut neighborhoods struck without warning, rescuers dig through rubble Residents of Beirut described strikes arriving without the customary warnings for civilians to evacuate, with explosions hitting the city in the middle of a bustling afternoon. „Now that they are done with Iran, it's our turn” — Mohammad via Franceinfo Associated Press journalists reported seeing charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at one of Beirut's busiest intersections in the central Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood. In the Ain el-Mraisseh district, an entire building was destroyed, with rescuers reporting that seven people remained trapped under the rubble. In the southern city of Saida, a cafe terrace was struck at the moment the Iran ceasefire took effect, killing 13 people. Lebanon's social affairs minister Haneen Sayed described the strikes as a "very dangerous turning point," noting that half of the country's internally displaced population had taken shelter in the areas of Beirut that were hit. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks "barbaric," while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of escalating at the precise moment Lebanese officials were seeking to negotiate a solution and of striking civilian areas in "utter disregard for the principles of international law."

UN warns of grave danger; France and Iran press for ceasefire extension to Lebanon The current Israel-Hezbollah conflict broke out on February 28, 2026, the same day U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned Lebanese militant group, had previously fought a major war with Israel in 2006. Lebanon has endured successive waves of Israeli military operations and has been hosting large numbers of internally displaced people from earlier phases of the conflict. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned through his spokesperson that the Israeli military campaign in Lebanon poses "a grave danger to the ceasefire and the efforts led in favor of a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region." UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the scale of civilian killings as "appalling" and called on the international community to help end what he termed a "nightmare," while also calling for an investigation into what he characterized as numerous violations of international law. French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the evening of April 8, stated that the cessation of strikes in Lebanon was a "necessary condition" for the ceasefire to be "credible and lasting" and that the truce must open the way to comprehensive negotiations ensuring the security of all parties in the Middle East. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam declared April 9 a national day of mourning for "the martyrs and the wounded during the Israeli attacks that targeted hundreds of innocent and defenseless civilians," and his office said he intended to "mobilize all of Lebanon's political and diplomatic resources to stop the Israeli killing machine." Hezbollah, which had paused attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon following the ceasefire announcement, responded on the morning of April 9 by launching rockets at the Israeli locality of Manara, citing Israeli violations of the truce. The divergence between the U.S.-Israeli interpretation of the ceasefire's scope and the positions of Iran, Pakistan, France, and the United Nations left the two-week truce under severe strain on its second day.

Operation Epic Fury