At least eight people were killed and 21 injured by Israeli strikes on Beirut's beachfront area of Ramlet Al Baida, where displaced families were sheltering in flimsy tents.
Hundreds of families who Israel forcibly displaced from their homes in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of the capital were sleeping in tents and on the pavements along the corniche when the attacks were launched without warning.
The double-tap strike took place at about 3am local time, Lebanese media reported. Graphic footage from the scene of the attack has been circulated on social media.
The death toll from Israeli strikes across Lebanon has risen quickly as Israel's offensive intensifies, with more than 600 killed since the war resumed on March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. At least 83 children were killed in only one week.
Beirut residents said Wednesday was among the most violent nights in the city, with Israeli strikes raining down on the southern suburbs.
The attacks came after Hezbollah said it launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel as part of a "series of operations", indicating there could be more attacks to come. More than 100 rockets were launched at Israel in an attack seemingly co-ordinated with Iran, Lebanese security sources told Reuters.
Hezbollah joined the US-Israeli war against Tehran on March 2 by attacking Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The militant group had largely refrained from responding to Israel's near-daily breaches of a ceasefire that came into effect in November 2024. More than 100 civilians were killed in Lebanon during what was described as a "one-sided" truce, UN figures show.
Israel responded to Hezbollah's attack with a major offensive last Monday, issuing orders for Lebanese to flee the entire area south of the Litani River, including about 150 villages, and Beirut's suburbs, home to four densely populated neighbourhoods.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a result. That has overwhelmed Lebanon's infrastructure, with the country still reeling from years of compounding crises. Hundreds of schools have been turned into shelters, but they are often overcrowded, and there are limited resources. Many families have been forced to sleep on the streets of the capital during the month of Ramadan, with nowhere to go.
Israel has attacked residential buildings and areas hosting displaced families more than once, including in the heart of the capital, to sow fear and division in the war-torn country.
