Israel strikes Beirut's Corniche Al Mazraa as ceasefire row erupts

Israel strikes Beirut's Corniche Al Mazraa as ceasefire row erupts

Confidence: HIGH (82/100)  |  April 08, 2026  |  Al Mazraa, Ha?afon, Israel

thenationalnews.com

In one sentence: Israel struck Beirut's Corniche Al Mazraa and other populated districts on April 8, killing at least eight people, as Netanyahu declared Lebanon excluded from the US-Iran ceasefire — a claim Iran flatly rejects.

Why it matters: Netanyahu's unilateral exclusion of Lebanon from the US-Iran ceasefire framework — directly contradicted by Tehran — leaves Hezbollah deciding whether to hold fire or escalate, with no diplomatic mechanism to enforce a pause. Israel has now killed more than 1,497 people in Lebanon since March 2 and displaced 1.2 million, nearly one-fifth of the country's population, creating one of the fastest-growing humanitarian crises in recent years. A breakdown in the ceasefire understanding could drag the wider Iran-US pause into collapse and re-open the full multi-front war.

What Happened Today

• Israel struck Beirut without warning on April 8, with powerful blasts hitting the densely populated neighbourhoods of Barbour, Corniche Al Mazraa, Ain Al Mreisseh and Burj Abi Haidar, Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported. At least eight people were killed across Lebanon in the day's attacks, NNA said.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that the two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreed with Washington does not apply to Lebanon, and that Israel would continue operations contingent on Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz and halting attacks on Israel and regional partners, according to his office's published statement.
• Iran directly contradicted Netanyahu, asserting the truce encompasses 'all fronts,' including support for the Islamic resistance in Lebanon, per a diplomatic source cited by AFP. A Lebanese political source close to Hezbollah told The National that the group had been 'notified of a ceasefire' and was 'committed to it since this morning,' but warned its position would depend on Israel's actions.
• An Israeli strike also hit Hiram hospital in Tyre, 'causing extensive damage to the building, including patient rooms and the hospital entrance,' NNA reported, with four people killed in a building near the hospital. Israeli evacuation orders now cover more than 1,470 sq km — approximately 14 percent of Lebanese territory — according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
• IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir approved plans to 'advance the targeted ground operations and strikes' against Hezbollah, describing what he called a 'prolonged operation.' The IDF on April 3 separately acknowledged that fully disarming Hezbollah militarily was unrealistic without occupying all of Lebanon, signalling a strategic shift toward reestablishing a South Lebanon security zone.

Contested Claims

• Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (published statement, April 8, 2026): Netanyahu's office says the US-Iran ceasefire explicitly does not cover Lebanon and Israeli operations will continue there. Iranian diplomatic source cited by AFP; Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Al-Moussawi: Iran says the truce encompasses all fronts, including Lebanon, and insisted on Lebanon's inclusion as a condition of the agreement.
• Israel Defense Forces: The IDF claimed to have killed approximately 1,000 Hezbollah fighters since the war began on March 2. Internal Hezbollah sources cited by Reuters: Internal Hezbollah sources said that over 400 Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the war.

Unverified / Single Source

• (Unverified — single source; Israeli military told AFP it was 'not aware' of such an incident; Al Jazeera could not independently verify) Hezbollah claimed on April 5 to have fired a cruise missile at an Israeli warship approximately 126 km off the Lebanese coast. [Hezbollah statement]

Key Figures

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Israel strike Beirut's Corniche Al Mazraa neighbourhood? Israel struck Corniche Al Mazraa and adjacent Beirut districts on April 8 without prior warning. The IDF says it targets Hezbollah infrastructure and operatives throughout Lebanon, including in Beirut's populated areas. Lebanon's NNA reported at least eight killed across the country that day. Israel has not provided a specific justification for the Mazraa strikes.

Does the US-Iran ceasefire include Lebanon? This is actively contested. Netanyahu's office declared on April 8 that the ceasefire does not cover Lebanon and Israeli operations will continue. Iran says the deal covers all fronts including Lebanon. Hezbollah told a Lebanese political source it was observing a ceasefire 'since this morning' but its leader Naim Qassem said the group's formal position would depend on Israel's actions.

How many people have been killed and displaced in the 2026 Lebanon war? Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health reported at least 1,497 killed and more than 4,639 wounded since the war began on March 2, 2026. UN data shows 1.2 million people — roughly 22 percent of Lebanon's population — have been displaced, ranking it among the top ten displacement crises globally in recent years, per Al Jazeera.

Background

The current Lebanon war began on March 2, 2026, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel after the US and Israel killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint strike on February 28. Israel responded with broad airstrikes across Lebanon and launched a ground invasion on March 16, aiming to dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure and establish a buffer zone south of the Litani River. The conflict is a major re-escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah war that had been nominally paused by a November 2024 ceasefire.

Sources

• thenationalnews.com — thenationalnews.com (unknown date)
• aljazeera.com — aljazeera.com (unknown date)
• longwarjournal.org — longwarjournal.org (unknown date)
• cfr.org — cfr.org (unknown date)
• france24.com — france24.com (unknown date)
• arabnews.com — arabnews.com (unknown date)
• en.wikipedia.org — en.wikipedia.org (unknown date)
• npr.org — npr.org (unknown date)