Smoke rises from the sites of Israeli air strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs [AFP]
- Israel has bombed locations across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, in devastating attacks that authorities say has killed at least 254 people and wounded more than 1,165.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said that Lebanon would not be included in the ceasefire.
- The United States and Iran have announced a suspension of all attacks for two weeks, and Tehran has agreed to allow the safe transit of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iran says upcoming talks in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Friday do not mean that the end of the war is guaranteed.
- Oil prices have fallen after Trump announced the pause in attacks on Iran, with Brent crude trading at just below $95 a barrel.
Lebanon’s ministry of Health issued the following breakdown :
Lebanese Minister of Health Rakan Nasser-Eddine announced today (Wednesday) that hundreds of citizens have been killed or injured across the country as a result of Israeli airstrikes.
The official Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that the airstrikes targeted wide areas in the South and the Bekaa Valley, encompassing several towns and villages.
The strikes resulted in a number of fatalities and injuries, including an entire family in the town of Al-Mansoura in the Hermel sector, and four deaths in Bidyas, while a large number of civilians were injured in Tyre.
Additionally, two Hezbollah members were killed in a drone strike near Hasbaya, and 10 bodies along with 24 injured individuals were transported to hospitals in Sidon.
In Baalbek, the NNA reported that a series of airstrikes launched by warplanes against towns in the district resulted in 20 deaths and 36 injuries, distributed as follows:
11 killed and 20 injured in Chmestar;
3 killed in the Al-Rawda locality, towards the Taryia plain;
and 6 killed and 16 injured in the town of Douris.
In Nabatieh, Israeli airstrikes on the city and its surrounding towns resulted in 19 deaths and 71 injuries—according to a near-final toll—following a series of intense strikes lasting no more than ten minutes that targeted several towns.
Earlier today—during the pre-dawn and morning hours—16 people were killed and 43 others injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes targeting towns in the Nabatieh, Tyre, and Bint Jbeil districts.
The Ministry of Health’s Emergency Operations Center reported that airstrikes on Sidon resulted in the deaths of nine people and injuries to 22 others.
Meanwhile, the Civil Defense announced that four people were killed in Al-Qasmiyah and 16 injured in Al-Qatrana, in addition to one fatality in Kfardounin and two in Srifa, as well as five wounded individuals in Blat—including the town’s Mukhtar.
Conversely, the Israeli military announced that it had ceased fire with Iran, while remaining on high alert, emphasizing that combat and ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon would continue.
Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced that Iran and the United States—along with their respective allies—had agreed to an immediate ceasefire “everywhere, including Lebanon,” calling for negotiations to be concluded in Islamabad.
Al Jazeera / Xinhua
