Israel strikes central Beirut without warning

Israeli air raids have torn through densely populated commercial and residential districts in central Beirut without warning, striking the heart of the capital just hours after a ceasefire was announced in the United States-Israeli war with Iran.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Wednesday that dozens of people had been killed and hundreds wounded, stressing that the figures were preliminary and likely to rise as rescue workers sifted through the rubble.

Israel had already claimed that the truce did not apply to its conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite mediator Pakistan saying the agreement extended to that front as well.

The Israeli military described the bombardment as the largest coordinated strike of the current war, with more than 100 Hezbollah-linked targets hit within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Several of the strikes landed in busy commercial areas, sending residents fleeing in panic as sirens wailed and glass and debris carpeted the streets.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said at least five neighbourhoods in Beirut’s central and coastal districts were hit.

The Israeli military said it had targeted missile launchers, command centres and intelligence infrastructure, and accused Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields.

Residents and local officials, however, insisted that the buildings struck were not military sites.

While Israel has regularly bombed southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs, it had rarely carried out attacks in central Beirut since the latest round of fighting with the group began on March 2.

Israeli air strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 1,530 people so far, and have forced at least 1.2 million people to flee their homes.