PANIC GRIPS LEBANON AS ISRAEL UNLEASHES FIERCEST STRIKES

DOZENS KILLED, HUNDREDS WOUNDED ACROSS COUNTRY IN SURPRISE ATTACK

- 

A rescue worker tries to extinguish burning cars at the site of an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut yesterday.

(AP)

Lebanon's government yesterday said Israeli strikes killed dozens and wounded hundreds across the country, with the capital Beirut hit by the most violent bombardment since the start of the war with militant group Hezbollah.

AFPTV's live broadcast showed plumes of smoke rising over Beirut and the suburbs, while AFP journalists saw panic in the streets before the Lebanese health ministry issued an emergency call for the capital's roads to be cleared for ambulances.

"In a very serious escalation, Israeli warplanes launched a wave of simultaneous airstrikes on several Lebanese areas, resulting in, in an initial count, dozens of martyrs and hundreds of wounded," the ministry said in a statement.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had carried out a surprise attack yesterday targeting hundreds of Hezbollah members across Lebanon, calling it the largest blow against the group since a 2024 operation involving pager bombs.

It came despite a deal for a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Hezbollah's backer Iran.