Israel launches massive wave of strikes across Lebanon following Iran ceasefire
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Wed, 04/08/2026 - 13:07
Israel says conducted 'largest coordinated strike' against Lebanon even as fighting pauses in Iran
Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes over Beirut and its southern suburbs on 8 April 2026 (Anwar Amro/AFP)
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A massive wave of Israeli strikes was launched across Lebanon on Wednesday, just hours after the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.
Several plumes of smoke could be seen rising over Beirut and its suburbs, while AFP journalists said they saw panic in the streets.
"The [Israeli army] completed the largest coordinated strike targeting approximately 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites in 10 minutes" in Beirut, Beqaa, and southern Lebanon, the military said in a statement.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said an Israeli air strike targeted a cemetery in the Beqaa Valley village of Shmestar, killing at least 10 people and injuring four others in attendence.
Other strikes targeted Beirut and areas in the south of the country.
Lebanon's health ministry issued an emergency call for people to clear roads in Beirut for ambulances.
The ministry said there were "dozens dead and hundreds wounded" so far.
In a statement, the ministry said it was "urgently calling on citizens to clear the way for ambulances so they can carry out their work".
"The traffic congestion caused by the unprecedented wave of air strikes launched by the Israeli enemy is hindering rescue efforts," it said.
Hours before the attacks, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire based on an Iranian proposal which included halting attacks on Lebanon.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who otherwise approved the ceasefire - was quick to assert that the agreement did not cover Lebanon.
Hezbollah joined the Israel-US war on Iran on 2 March by firing a barrage of rockets over the border into Israel.
Since then, Israel has launched a ground invasion of Lebanon which has been seen as a prelude to permanent occupation of the south of the country.
Lebanon's prime minister on Wednesday called for the country's allies to come to their aid to stop the Israeli attacks.
Hezbollah had earlier urged displaced residents in Lebanon not to return to their homes until a formal ceasefire was announced.
Meanwhile, Spain summoned the Israeli charge d'affaires in Madrid on Wednesday to protest the "unjustifiable detention of a Spanish soldier" from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) by the Israeli army.
Unifil reported the incident on Tuesday, without revealing the peacekeeper's nationality, and explained on X that Israeli forces had detained a member of the peacekeeping force "after blocking a logistics convoy", who was released in "less than an hour".
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