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Intelligence ReportBeirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon

Israel pounds central Beirut with 100 strikes, kills 112, rejects Iran truce

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Key Developments
  • ▸Israel struck more than 100 Hezbollah-linked targets across central Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley within 10 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, in what the Israeli military called the largest coordinated strike of the current war, according to the IDF and confirmed by AP and Al Jazeera.
  • ▸At least 112 people were killed and hundreds wounded in Beirut alone — one of the deadliest single days of the conflict — with Lebanon's health ministry describing the figures as preliminary and likely to rise, according to Lebanese authorities cited by AP.
  • ▸The strikes came without warning and hit at least five neighbourhoods in central and coastal Beirut — areas rarely targeted since fighting resumed on March 2 — with Associated Press journalists witnessing charred bodies in vehicles at the central Corniche al Mazraa intersection.
  • ▸Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the US-Iran two-week ceasefire did not extend to Lebanon; IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel would 'utilize every operational opportunity' to strike Hezbollah, and Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem 'his turn will come.'
  • ▸Italian UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) came under Israeli warning shots during the strikes, prompting Rome to summon Israel's ambassador; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanded Israel 'immediately cease' attacks in Lebanon, according to Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.

Israel pounds central Beirut with 100 strikes, kills 112, rejects Iran truce

Confidence: HIGH (92/100)  |  April 08, 2026  |  Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon

Israel pounds central Beirut with 100 strikes, kills 112, rejects Iran truce aljazeera.com

In one sentence: Israel struck central Beirut with over 100 airstrikes in 10 minutes on April 8, killing at least 112 people and rejecting calls to extend the US-Iran ceasefire to Lebanon.

Why it matters: Israel's explicit refusal to include Lebanon in the US-Iran ceasefire breaks what mediator Pakistan and Iran described as a region-wide truce, threatening to unravel the broader deal. The strikes targeted areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of internally displaced civilians, deepening a humanitarian crisis in which over 1.2 million people — one-fifth of Lebanon's population — have already fled their homes. Iran has warned it could withdraw from the ceasefire if Israel continues attacking Lebanon, injecting fresh volatility into the fragile US-Iran agreement.

What Happened Today

  • Israel struck more than 100 Hezbollah-linked targets across central Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley within 10 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, in what the Israeli military called the largest coordinated strike of the current war, according to the IDF and confirmed by AP and Al Jazeera.
  • At least 112 people were killed and hundreds wounded in Beirut alone — one of the deadliest single days of the conflict — with Lebanon's health ministry describing the figures as preliminary and likely to rise, according to Lebanese authorities cited by AP.
  • The strikes came without warning and hit at least five neighbourhoods in central and coastal Beirut — areas rarely targeted since fighting resumed on March 2 — with Associated Press journalists witnessing charred bodies in vehicles at the central Corniche al Mazraa intersection.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the US-Iran two-week ceasefire did not extend to Lebanon; IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel would 'utilize every operational opportunity' to strike Hezbollah, and Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem 'his turn will come.'
  • Italian UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) came under Israeli warning shots during the strikes, prompting Rome to summon Israel's ambassador; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanded Israel 'immediately cease' attacks in Lebanon, according to Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.

Contested Claims

  • Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (statement); Iranian Tasnim news agency citing 'knowledgeable source': Pakistani mediator PM Shehbaz Sharif said the two-week US-Iran ceasefire applies 'everywhere including Lebanon,' and Iran's Supreme National Security Council endorsed that interpretation, with Tehran threatening to withdraw from the truce if Israel continues striking Lebanon. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (statement); White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (Axios); US President Donald Trump (PBS NewsHour): Israeli PM Netanyahu and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt both stated Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal; US President Trump called Israel's Lebanon campaign 'a separate skirmish.'
  • Israel Defense Forces (official statement): Israel's military said it targeted missile launchers, command centres and intelligence infrastructure, accusing Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields and blending into non-Shia areas. Mohammed Balouza, Beirut municipal council (AP); Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Haneed Sayed (AP): Residents and Lebanese officials, including Beirut municipal council member Mohammed Balouza at the Corniche al Mazraa strike scene, denied that any of the buildings hit were military sites, calling them residential and commercial areas.

Unverified / Single Source

  • (Unverified — anonymous source — official spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorised to comment publicly) A Hezbollah official told AP the group was giving mediators a chance to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon but had not formally adhered to the Iran truce, and would not accept a return to pre-March 2 conditions of near-daily Israeli strikes. [Anonymous Hezbollah official (AP)]
  • (Unverified — single source — state/party media only; Al Jazeera could not independently verify; no Israeli military comment) Hezbollah claimed its fighters launched a cruise missile at an Israeli warship 126 km off the Lebanese coast on April 5. [Hezbollah statement]

Key Figures

MetricValueSource
People killed in April 8 Beirut strikesAt least 112Lebanese authorities cited by AP
People wounded in Beirut on April 8 (early estimate)Hundreds (32 killed, 243 wounded in Beirut per Lebanese Red Cross early count)Lebanese Red Cross / UPI
IDF targets struck in single 10-minute salvo on April 8More than 100Israel Defense Forces (statement)
Total killed in Lebanon since March 2, 2026More than 1,530 (including 100+ women, 130+ children)AP / PBS NewsHour citing Israeli military and Lebanese health data
Displaced persons in Lebanon since March 2More than 1.2 million (approx. 22% of population), including 350,000 childrenUN data cited by Al Jazeera; Lebanese authorities
Total IDF attacks on Lebanon since March 2 (ACLED count)More than 1,840Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Israel strike Beirut after the Iran ceasefire was announced? Israel's PM Netanyahu declared the US-Iran two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon, and the IDF proceeded with what it called its largest coordinated strike of the war. The US backed Israel's position, with President Trump calling it 'a separate skirmish,' while mediator Pakistan and Iran insisted the truce was meant to cover Lebanon.

How many people have been killed and displaced in Lebanon since the war restarted? Since Hezbollah opened fire on Israel on March 2 — triggering Israel's air campaign and ground invasion — Lebanese authorities say more than 1,530 people have been killed and over 1.2 million displaced, about one-fifth of Lebanon's entire population, according to UN and Lebanese health ministry data.

Could Israel's strikes on Lebanon collapse the US-Iran ceasefire? Iran has explicitly threatened to withdraw from the truce if Israel 'continues to violate it by attacking Lebanon,' according to a source cited by Iran's Tasnim agency. That threat puts the US in a difficult position: Washington endorsed Israel's exclusion of Lebanon but needs the ceasefire to hold to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

Background

Israel and Hezbollah have been in intermittent conflict since October 2023, with a ceasefire brokered in November 2024 that Israel repeatedly violated with near-daily strikes. When the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, Hezbollah fired missiles and drones at Israel on March 2, prompting Israel to launch a full air and ground campaign across Lebanon. The current war has been running for 37 days, with Israel conducting over 1,840 recorded attacks on Lebanese territory, according to ACLED.

Sources

Israel pounds central Beirut with 100 strikes, kills 112, rejects Iran truce
Image via aljazeera.com
Source Verification
✓ Verified Facts
  • ✓Israel struck more than 100 Hezbollah-linked targets across central Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley within 10 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, in what the Israeli military called the largest coordinated strike of the current war, according to the IDF and confirmed by AP and Al Jazeera.
  • ✓At least 112 people were killed and hundreds wounded in Beirut alone — one of the deadliest single days of the conflict — with Lebanon's health ministry describing the figures as preliminary and likely to rise, according to Lebanese authorities cited by AP.
  • ✓The strikes came without warning and hit at least five neighbourhoods in central and coastal Beirut — areas rarely targeted since fighting resumed on March 2 — with Associated Press journalists witnessing charred bodies in vehicles at the central Corniche al Mazraa intersection.
  • ✓Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the US-Iran two-week ceasefire did not extend to Lebanon; IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel would 'utilize every operational opportunity' to strike Hezbollah, and Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem 'his turn will come.'
  • ✓Italian UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) came under Israeli warning shots during the strikes, prompting Rome to summon Israel's ambassador; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanded Israel 'immediately cease' attacks in Lebanon, according to Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.
⚠ Disputed Claims
  • ⚠
    Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (statement); Iranian Tasnim news agency citing 'knowledgeable source'
    Pakistani mediator PM Shehbaz Sharif said the two-week US-Iran ceasefire applies 'everywhere including Lebanon,' and Iran's Supreme National Security Council endorsed that interpretation, with Tehran threatening to withdraw from the truce if Israel continues striking Lebanon.
    vs
    Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (statement); White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (Axios); US President Donald Trump (PBS NewsHour)
    Israeli PM Netanyahu and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt both stated Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal; US President Trump called Israel's Lebanon campaign 'a separate skirmish.'
  • ⚠
    Israel Defense Forces (official statement)
    Israel's military said it targeted missile launchers, command centres and intelligence infrastructure, accusing Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields and blending into non-Shia areas.
    vs
    Mohammed Balouza, Beirut municipal council (AP); Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Haneed Sayed (AP)
    Residents and Lebanese officials, including Beirut municipal council member Mohammed Balouza at the Corniche al Mazraa strike scene, denied that any of the buildings hit were military sites, calling them residential and commercial areas.
○ Unconfirmed
  • ○
    A Hezbollah official told AP the group was giving mediators a chance to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon but had not formally adhered to the Iran truce, and would not accept a return to pre-March 2 conditions of near-daily Israeli strikes.(Anonymous Hezbollah official (AP))
  • ○
    Hezbollah claimed its fighters launched a cruise missile at an Israeli warship 126 km off the Lebanese coast on April 5.(Hezbollah statement)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Israel strike Beirut after the Iran ceasefire was announced?
Israel's PM Netanyahu declared the US-Iran two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon, and the IDF proceeded with what it called its largest coordinated strike of the war. The US backed Israel's position, with President Trump calling it 'a separate skirmish,' while mediator Pakistan and Iran insisted the truce was meant to cover Lebanon.
How many people have been killed and displaced in Lebanon since the war restarted?
Since Hezbollah opened fire on Israel on March 2 — triggering Israel's air campaign and ground invasion — Lebanese authorities say more than 1,530 people have been killed and over 1.2 million displaced, about one-fifth of Lebanon's entire population, according to UN and Lebanese health ministry data.
Could Israel's strikes on Lebanon collapse the US-Iran ceasefire?
Iran has explicitly threatened to withdraw from the truce if Israel 'continues to violate it by attacking Lebanon,' according to a source cited by Iran's Tasnim agency. That threat puts the US in a difficult position: Washington endorsed Israel's exclusion of Lebanon but needs the ceasefire to hold to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.