Last updated 5:29 P.M. Eastern
The ink was barely dry on last night’s two week ceasefire with Iran when Israel began what was their largest scale attack on Lebanon since the war began, with IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee saying Israel carried out strikes on over 100 targets in just 10 minutes. Reportedly that involved 160 bombs being dropped on Lebanon
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz presented it as a “surprise attack” on hundreds of Hezbollah members, though reports indicate that Israel targeted sites in and around Beirut, across southern Lebanon, as well as in the Bekaa Valley, and no evidence was provided by Israel that the targeting was exclusively Hezbollah targets.
The very preliminary reports are suggesting a lot of non-military targets were struck in the course of this operation, with reports an attack on a funeral in Chmistar killed at least 10, and three girls in the coastal town of Adloun reportedly slain in another strike.
The most recent figures from Lebanese officials are that at least 254 people were killed in the course of the Israeli attacks, and over 1,165 others have been wounded.
While this is a larger single strike than anyone expected, it also does not appear to be a one-off, with Israeli Army Chief Eyal Zamir vowing Israel will “continue to attack without pause” and the army further announcing the war has been rebranded “Operation Eternal Darkness.”
In the lead-up to these attacks, Israel also issued an evacuation order for the suburbs of the city of Tyre, ordering residents of those areas to head northward beyond the Litani and Zahrani Rivers. Given the Israeli military launched high-profile attacks to destroy the bridge spanning the Litani just weeks prior, complying with the order was effectively impossible.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks as ‘barbaric’ and similarly reported substantial civilian damage was inflicted, saying Israel bears full responsibility for these attacks. He added that Israel had added a “new massacre to its dark record” and urged the international community to intervene to stop the attacks. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has declared a national day of mourning Thursday in the wake of the massacre.
Israel launched its latest war against Lebanon in early March, in the immediate aftermath of the joint US-Israel attack on Iran. Though it was clear in all early reports that Iran’s 10 point plan for the ceasefire included cessation of attacks on Lebanon as well, Israel insisted Lebanon wasn’t included at all, and today’s strikes indicate that not only did they never intend to stop attacking Lebanon, but are greatly escalating the conflict. Iran has reportedly threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire outright in the wake of the attacks on Lebanon.
US Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed the massacre, suggesting there was never any intention of including Lebanon in the deal and also claiming that Israel had agreed to “frankly check itself a little bit in Lebanon” despite having killed an enormous number of civilians today because Israel is so committed to the deal. He added that he thought it would be “dumb” of Iran to risk harming the ceasefire over Lebanon.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the scale of the killing in Lebanon was “horrific” and said it was particularly appalling for such an incident to be carried out mere hours after a ceasefire was put into effect.
This is a breaking story and will be updated
