THE MIND OF THE PEOPLE – Israel is claimed to have launched the largest airstrike on Lebanon since the war with Hezbollah on March 2 2026, killing at least 254 people and wounding 837 others.
The attack sparked threats from Iran, which said it was ready to withdraw from the ceasefire it had just agreed to with the United States less than 24 hours earlier.
Quoting The Guardian, Israeli warplanes are claimed to have leveled a number of buildings in central Beirut in what Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called a ‘surprise attack’ against Hezbollah.
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More than 100 Hezbollah military targets were claimed to have been attacked across Lebanon, including in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, within a 10-minute period.
The streets of the Lebanese capital are claimed to be filled with cars destroyed by explosions and the ruins of burning buildings. The hospital is claimed to be calling for blood donations. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health asked residents to clear the roads so that ambulances could reach the victims.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the two-week ceasefire agreed to by the US and Iran did not include Beirut. This statement contradicts the Pakistani mediator’s previous claim that the ceasefire applies “everywhere including Lebanon”.
US President Donald Trump later called Lebanon a “separate battle” that was not included in the deal, because of the presence of Hezbollah.
US Vice President JD Vance called the differences in interpretation a “legitimate misunderstanding.” According to him, Iran thought the ceasefire included Lebanon, even though the US never agreed to this.
Quoting Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Iranian sources said Tehran was ready to leave the ceasefire deal if Israel “continues to violate the ceasefire in Lebanon.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is claimed to have discussed the alleged ceasefire violations with Pakistani officials.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned the scale of the attack as “appalling.” The large-scale attack just hours after a ceasefire with Iran was agreed is said to have put enormous pressure on the fragile peace.
The International Red Cross also claimed to be “appalled by the devastating death and destruction” in densely populated areas of Lebanon.
Tehran previously included ending the war against “all components of the resistance axis” — which for Tehran includes Hezbollah — as one of the points in its 10-point proposal that served as the basis for ceasefire negotiations with the US.
Netanyahu said Israel still had “a goal to complete” and was ready to confront Iran if necessary. The Israeli military is claimed to have stated that operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon will continue.
The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman even warned that the attacks could spread deeper into Beirut, after most strikes were limited to the city’s southern outskirts.
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Meanwhile, citing Reuters, Israel’s five-week war in Lebanon is claimed to have killed more than 1,530 people and forced more than 1.2 million residents to flee. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu over the situation.
Lapid said Israel was not involved in making decisions on the US-Iran ceasefire which concerns Israel’s core national security.
Further negotiations between the US and Iran are scheduled to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday (10/4/2026), although tensions due to Israel’s attack on Lebanon are claimed to be clouding the continuation of these negotiations.***
