Israel hits 100 Lebanon targets in 10 minutes, 254 killed after Iran ceasefire
Confidence: HIGH (88/100) | April 08, 2026 | Lebanon
aljazeera.com
In one sentence: Israel struck 100 Lebanese targets in 10 minutes on April 8, killing at least 254 people hours after a US-Iran ceasefire that Netanyahu declared did not cover Lebanon.
Why it matters: Israel's decision to exclude Lebanon from the US-Iran ceasefire and then launch its single deadliest barrage of the campaign places Washington in an impossible position: Iran is now threatening to reimpose the Hormuz blockade and suspend the ceasefire deal, demanding the US choose between the truce and Israeli operations. The strikes — the largest since Israel's renewed Lebanon war began March 2 — signal Israel intends to pursue a prolonged campaign to establish a southern buffer zone regardless of regional diplomacy, threatening to unravel the fragile US-Iran agreement before its ink is dry.
What Happened Today
- Israel launched what its military called its 'largest coordinated strike' on Lebanon since March 2, hitting more than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon within a 10-minute window on April 8, the IDF announced; Lebanon's civil defence service told Reuters the strikes killed more than 250 people and wounded over 1,165.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office had hours earlier rejected Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's announcement that the US-Iran two-week ceasefire covered 'Lebanon and elsewhere,' stating explicitly that Lebanon was not included in the agreement; President Trump confirmed to PBS News that Lebanon was excluded 'because of Hezbollah.'
- Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that Washington 'must choose — ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both,' and an IRGC-affiliated Iranian news agency reported that Tehran was suspending tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in direct response to the Lebanon strikes, threatening to collapse the ceasefire.
- IDF Staff Sergeant Touvel Yosef Lifshiz, 20, of the Golani Brigade, was killed in ground combat in southern Lebanon on April 8, the Israeli military announced; two other soldiers were hospitalised. The IDF also said Hussein Makled, head of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters, was killed in overnight Beirut strikes.
- Hezbollah had halted all fire on northern Israel from approximately 1am Wednesday — around the time the US-Iran ceasefire took hold — but a Hezbollah MP warned of a response from Iran and its allies if Israel 'does not adhere to a ceasefire,' while the group's official said it would not accept a return to the pre-March 2 status quo of daily Israeli strikes.
Contested Claims
- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as reported by NBC News and CBS News: Pakistan's Prime Minister Sharif said the US-Iran ceasefire deal covered Lebanon 'and elsewhere,' implying Hezbollah operations would be included. Office of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu; President Donald Trump via PBS News: Netanyahu's office stated the ceasefire 'does not include Lebanon'; Trump separately confirmed Lebanon was excluded 'because of Hezbollah.'
- Israel Defense Forces official statement: The Israeli military said it took 'steps to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible' and that strikes targeted Hezbollah command centres embedded in civilian areas. Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Haneed Sayed, AP; Beirut municipal council member Mohammed Balouza, AP: Lebanon's Minister of Social Affairs Haneed Sayed called the strikes a 'very dangerous turning point,' saying hits were 'at the heart of Beirut' where half of all internally displaced people were sheltering; residents and municipal officials at the Corniche al Mazraa scene denied any military presence.
Unverified / Single Source
- (Unverified — state media only | single source | not independently corroborated at time of reporting) Iran has reimposed a full suspension of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israel's Lebanon strikes. [Fars News Agency (IRGC-affiliated Iranian outlet), cited by NBC News]
- (Unverified — single source | not independently corroborated — Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of such an incident) Hezbollah fired a cruise missile at an Israeli warship 126km off the Lebanese coast on April 5. [Hezbollah statement, as reported by Al Jazeera]
Key Figures
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Killed in April 8 Israeli strikes on Lebanon | At least 254 | Lebanon civil defence service, via Reuters / Al Jazeera |
| Wounded in April 8 Israeli strikes on Lebanon | More than 1,165 | Lebanon Ministry of Public Health, via Al Jazeera |
| Total killed in Lebanon since March 2 Israeli campaign | More than 1,500 (including 130 children) | Lebanon Ministry of Public Health, cited by Al Jazeera and NBC News |
| People displaced in Lebanon since March 2 | More than 1.2 million (one-fifth of Lebanon's 5.9 million population) | Lebanese authorities / ACLED, via Al Jazeera |
| Israeli strikes on Lebanon since March 2 (total) | More than 1,840 | Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), via Al Jazeera |
| Targets struck in April 8 coordinated wave | 100+ sites within 10 minutes | IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani / Israeli military statement |
| Israeli soldier killed in southern Lebanon ground combat, April 8 | 1 (Staff Sgt. Touvel Yosef Lifshiz, 20, Golani Brigade) | Israel Defense Forces, via Haaretz |
| Israeli territory under evacuation orders in Lebanon (Norwegian Refugee Council estimate) | More than 1,470 sq km (14% of Lebanon's territory) | Norwegian Refugee Council, via Al Jazeera |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Israel still attacking Lebanon if there is a ceasefire with Iran? Israeli PM Netanyahu explicitly stated the US-Iran two-week ceasefire does not cover Lebanon, and President Trump confirmed this to PBS News, saying Lebanon was excluded 'because of Hezbollah.' Israel considers its campaign against Hezbollah a separate conflict, even though Hezbollah entered the war as Iran's proxy and has now halted fire since the ceasefire took effect.
How many people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel's new offensive began? More than 1,500 people, including 130 children, had been killed before April 8, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health. The April 8 strikes alone killed at least 254 more and wounded over 1,165, according to Lebanon's civil defence service via Reuters.
Could Israel's Lebanon strikes collapse the US-Iran ceasefire? Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US must choose between the ceasefire and 'continued war via Israel — it cannot have both.' An IRGC-affiliated news outlet reported Iran was resuspending Hormuz tanker traffic in response. If confirmed, that would directly threaten global oil flows and the fragile US-Iran deal announced just hours earlier.
Background
Israel relaunched full-scale military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon on March 2, 2026, after the Iran-backed group fired rockets into Israel following a US-Israeli strike on Iran. A previous Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire had been brokered in November 2024, but Israel conducted near-daily strikes throughout the intervening period, with the UN documenting over 10,000 violations. Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon on March 16 and has declared its intent to establish a permanent security buffer zone up to the Litani River.
Sources
- aljazeera.com — aljazeera.com (unknown date)
- nbcnews.com — nbcnews.com (unknown date)
- cbsnews.com — cbsnews.com (unknown date)
- pbs.org — pbs.org (unknown date)
- haaretz.com — haaretz.com (unknown date)
- amnesty.org — amnesty.org (unknown date)
- longwarjournal.org — longwarjournal.org (unknown date)
- en.wikipedia.org — en.wikipedia.org (unknown date)