Israel has launched a surprise military assault across Lebanon with dozens of airstrikes, marking one of the largest attacks in the history of the conflict, officials and media reports said.
Air raids targeted residential buildings, mosques, vehicles, and cemeteries across the country. Lebanese officials estimate there are hundreds of casualties, including dozens of people killed, while search and rescue efforts remain ongoing.
Several strikes hit central Beirut, with one building in the Corniche al-Mazraa neighbourhood reported flattened. Attacks also targeted the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
Israel intensified its air raids in south and east Lebanon as well, with multiple deadly strikes reported in the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon.
While there is still no final tally for the death toll, Lebanese media outlets have reported that strikes across the country claimed many lives.
According to reports, an air raid on a funeral in the eastern Lebanon village of Shmestar killed at least 10 people. Six people were killed in one attack in Sidon, while three people died in a strike in western Beirut.
Three girls were killed in the coastal town of Adloun. At least two people were killed in Douris in the Bekaa Valley, and casualties were also reported in Kayfoun in Mount Lebanon.
