The relentless sound of sirens filled Lebanon's capital on Wednesday after Israel launched a massive wave of strikes on Beirut and around the country, killing at least 254 people and injuring more than 1,000.
It was the deadliest day for Lebanon since the war began on March 2.
Israel said it attacked 100 Hezbollah “command centres and military sites” in 10 minutes, but provided no evidence of a Hezbollah connection to any of the sites.
In only a few minutes, Israel caused hundreds of casualties in synchronised strikes around the country.
More than 90 people were killed in Beirut alone, according to Lebanon’s Civil Defence. The toll is expected to rise as rescue teams continue to search.
Thick columns of smoke shrouded the capital, with the blasts shattering windows dozens of metres away from the sites hit.
Parents with packed bags and shell-shocked children stood on pavements, uncertain of where to go. Across the capital, residents fielded calls from friends and family who were frantic with worry.
Witnesses reported panicked families jumping from balconies straight after one of the strikes on the commercial district of Corniche Al Mazraa, after missiles destroyed a next-door residential building and a commercial warehouse, devastating nearby buildings in the process.
The smoke from rubble lingered in the air for hours as dozens of rescuers at each site frantically worked to search for remains and survivors. Rescue workers at a strike on the quiet, upscale residential neighbourhood of Caracas told The National that a long night lay ahead as they moved from site to site, clearing rubble and searching for survivors.
“We’re still pulling people out,” a rescue worker at the site of one of the Beirut strikes said.
At least five heavily populated neighbourhoods of Beirut were struck without warning during one of the busiest times of the day for the capital.
The National visited three neighbourhoods. All of the buildings hit were residential. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks “barbaric”.
In a sinister threat, the Israeli military claimed Hezbollah operatives were moving out of Beirut's southern suburbs to non-Shiite areas of the capital. It provided no evidence for the claim, which will be perceived as an attempt to stir up sectarian tension and justify attacks on new neighbourhoods.
“It’s different now,” said Siraj Younes, a witness who lives in Corniche Al Mazraa – across the street the residential building and commercial warehouse. He said Israel’s attacks across Lebanon had eroded people’s sense of safety.
“It’s like this anywhere in Lebanon – anything, anyone can be targeted,” he said. Mr Younes said he would be sleeping in his own apartment that evening despite the attack happening across the street from him “because, anyway, we don’t know where it’s safe anymore".
People struggled to understand what could have been the targets. Faddi Shebbo, a manager at a shop next to the struck site, said he never saw anything “unusual”.
“The hangar stores diesel and electrical supplies,” he said. One of his employees is among the victims. His body was found in the shop after parts of a wall fell on him. But amid the rubble, many others remain unidentified.
In Caracas, Hossam Zein and his family stood on the pavement as they watched the rescue operations. A building next to his was left half standing after an Israeli attack. Rescuers said they pulled out five bodies from the rubble.
“We no longer know who is living next to us, above us. We don’t know anything anymore. This is a very quiet area,” said Mr Zein, a father of four. He added that he was considering moving his family out of Beirut for a few days. “It’s the first time something like this has happened to our neighbourhood.”
He had hoped Lebanon would be included in the ceasefire – which Israel firmly denied, contradicting an earlier pledge from Pakistani mediators.
“What about the Lebanese?” asked Mr Zain. “What are we – roaches under their feet? If we’re cockroaches, they should at least tell us so we can go elsewhere."
The Israeli strikes on Beirut were “unprecedented in number and intensity,” Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said.
It told all drivers to make sure roads were clear for emergency services. Off-duty doctors were asked to come into work, while hospitals appealed for blood donations.
The Israeli attacks extended throughout Lebanon, including in several densely populated areas of Beirut that had not been previously targets. They came only hours after a ceasefire between the US and Iran had raised hopes of peace in the region, only for Israel to claim it did not apply to Lebanon.
In the moments after the ceasefire was made public, Hezbollah said it would respect it even if Israel said Lebanon was not included. However, this was before Israel's spree of attacks. In a statement after the strikes the Iran-backed group promised the blood of those killed on Wednesday “would not be wasted” and said it had a “natural and legal right” to respond to Israel’s attacks.
As afternoon stretched into night and bodies across Lebanon were still being pulled our from the rubble, the full extent of the civilian toll began to become apparent. WhatsApp groups and social media began publishing the names and ages of those who were killed in the Israeli strikes. Women and children made up a large share of the casualties.
