TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lebanon has declared a national mourning following a wave of Israeli attacks that claimed at least 254 lives and injured over 1,165 people in a single day on Wednesday. Loud explosions were heard and smoke rose in the Dahiyeh area, south of Beirut.
As reported by Antara, the Israeli military previously stated that it had targeted more than 100 locations in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon within 10 minutes.
In the largest air strike location in Beirut, several hours later, emergency workers were still searching for survivors and casualties among the damaged buildings.
Among the rubble, glimpses of interrupted lives were found: smiling family photos, pieces of clothing, and unfinished schoolwork.
Abdelkader Mahfouz was visiting his injured brother.
"There was a lot of body parts here. Only people are getting harmed. What should the people do. We can't do anything," he said.
The Wednesday attacks were recorded as the "largest wave" since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, on March 2nd. The reported death toll from the Israeli attacks is at least 254, including 92 in Beirut.
"We are facing a dangerous escalation taking place in Lebanon, with Israel's aggression through more than 100 air strikes targeting innocent civilians in Beirut, Dahiyeh, Bekaa, Mount Lebanon, and the south," said Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine.
As reported by Al Jazeera, Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he is mobilizing "all of Lebanon’s political and diplomatic resources to stop the Israeli killing machine."
US-Iran Ceasefire
The wave of attacks occurred just hours after US President Donald Trump and Iran confirmed a two-week ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire is intended to pave the way for a final agreement to end the war launched by Washington and Tel Aviv against Tehran since late February.
One of the points of the agreement, as announced by the Pakistani mediator, is to stop the war in Lebanon.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire between the United States and Iran. This was affirmed by US Vice President JD Vance. "I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't. We never made that promise."
This has angered Iranian officials, who stated that the US and Israel have reneged on the agreed ceasefire by claiming that Lebanon is not included in the battle pause.
JD Vance, who will lead the US negotiators in Pakistan, stated that it would be Iran's "choice" to let the negotiations "fail" because of Lebanon.
Hezbollah, which has not claimed any attacks since the ceasefire was announced, stated that the group is entitled to retaliate. They warned refugee families to await the official ceasefire announcement before attempting to return home.
The latest escalation in the decades-long conflict between Hezbollah and Israel erupted when the group fired rockets into Israel in response to the killing of Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the early stages of the war.
This is also in response to Israel's almost daily attacks on Lebanon that have continued despite a ceasefire agreed upon in November 2024.
More than 1,700 people have been killed, including at least 130 children, so far as a result of the war, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, without distinguishing between combatants and civilians.
Israel claims to have killed around 1,100 Hezbollah fighters.
Over 1.2 million people have been displaced, or one in five inhabitants of Lebanon, most of them coming from the Shiite Muslim community.
The recent conflict in the Middle East not only caused loss of life and injuries, but also resulted in disruptions to international flights. The war also triggered a global energy crisis with traffic restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, controlled by Iran in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks.
Read: Pakistan Says Iran Ceasefire Applies 'Everywhere' as Netanyahu Excludes Lebanon
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