Rescuers work at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. Marwan Naamani, In Lebanon hundreds were killed and over a thousand were injured by Israel strikes a day after a ceasefire was agreed
On Wednesday morning, Israel unleashed a massive bombing campaign on Lebanon that hit one hundred different locations in just ten minutes. According to various sources, it is the worst attack since the Israeli invasion of 1982.
Without warning, Israeli air force planes leveled entire buildings in Beirut, and bombings were also reported in Tyre and other Lebanese towns. Hundreds of images of people covered in rubble circulated in the media, and witnesses reported dozens of wounded running through the streets seeking help. Ten people were killed while attending a funeral.
The Lebanese Red Cross confirmed that its 100 ambulances across the country were working non-stop, and Lebanese health ministry authorities confirmed that hospitals were overwhelmed and that at least 256 people had died and more than 1146 were injured. That number is expected to rise, however, since many remain trapped under the rubble.
Competing Interpretations of the Ceasefire
President Donald Trump and Israel are claiming that the ceasefire does not extend to Lebanon. On Wednesday, Trump stated “everyone knows that Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire with Iran,” a sentiment echoed by Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli military has also confirmed their intention to continue bombing and invading Lebanese territory in spite of the ceasefire. Iran, for its part, is evaluating how to respond to Israel’s provocations, as one of its ten basic points for a ceasefire negotiation was the cessation of attacks in that country. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a central role in mediating between the two sides, has also stated that the agreement reached included Lebanon and other locations.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Anoun stated that “These barbaric acts of aggression, which recognize no rights and respect no agreements or commitments, have repeatedly demonstrated an absolute contempt for all international laws and norms,” and denounced Israel for once again defying “all human values.” The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, also condemned what he called “the brutality of the Israeli killing machine in its war of extermination against Lebanon.”
This criminal attack by the State of Israel, which also continued to bomb the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, could shatter the fragile truce, which was already threatened by various strikes on strategic infrastructure in several Gulf countries and in Iran itself. In fact, the Persian state has once again completely blocked the Strait of Hormuz and threatened any ship attempting to pass without its authorization.
Israel Still Committed to War
The ceasefire agreement reached on Tuesday night has put Benjamin Netanyahu in a very awkward position and he is already facing internal criticism for supporting an agreement that many in Israel are saying is a victory for Iran. Yair Lapid, leader of the Israeli opposition, stated that “the ceasefire is a political disaster of unprecedented proportions” since “Israel had no say whatsoever.” The Israeli government is also dissatisfied with the strengthened position Iran would occupy in the region should it ultimately succeed in imposing its conditions.
It is clear that Israel is unhappy with the ceasefire and would prefer an escalation of the conflict with Iran. Indeed, Wednesday’s massacre in Lebanon shows that the Israeli genocidal machine will not be content with anything less than the destruction of the Iranian state as a regional power. It remains to be seen how far they will go down this path and what kind of chaos and instability they are willing to create in order to achieve that goal.
In response, it is necessary to massively increase mobilization worldwide against the constant imperialist aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, who have been resisting this warmongering policy, and to build a true anti-imperialist movement to confront this barbarity.
LeftVoice . Org
