DEATH toll from Wednesday’s Israeli attacks across Lebanon has risen to 254, with at least 1,165 people injured, according to Lebanon’s civil defence authorities, as strikes hit multiple densely populated areas across the country.
The casualties were recorded across several regions, with Beirut reporting 92 deaths and 742 injuries. In the southern suburbs of the capital, at least 61 people were killed and 200 injured, while Baalbek recorded 18 deaths and 28 injuries.
Hermel reported nine killed and six injured. In Nabatieh, 28 were killed and 59 injured, while Aley District had 17 killed and six injured.
Similarly, in Sidon, 12 died and 56 injured, and in Tyre, 17 were killed and 68 injured, according to the report.
Rescue operations continued in several affected areas as emergency teams worked through rubble and destroyed buildings, particularly in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s outskirts, where residential neighbourhoods were heavily impacted.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) condemned what it described as Israel’s “brutal massacre in Beirut,” warning of a “regretful response” if the attacks continue.
Iranian officials also indicated that further escalation could follow if hostilities are not halted.
The escalation came amid confusion over the scope of a reported two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.
The United State President Donald Trump was reportedly quoted as saying Lebanon was “not included” in the deal, describing the ongoing war in Lebanon as a “separate skirmish” tied to Hezbollah.
“Because of Hezbollah, they were not included in the deal,” Trump told the public broadcaster PBS.
Iranian state-linked media, however, suggested that the exclusion of Lebanon from the truce could threaten regional stability.
Reports also claimed that Iranian authorities had considered suspending oil tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, though this has not been officially confirmed.
According to Al Jazeera Arabic, a senior official claimed that Tehran would “punish Israel” over the strikes in Lebanon, adding that Israel would only be deterred through force if attacks continued.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, however, maintained that operations in Lebanon would continue.
This has further raised concerns that the conflict could expand beyond existing regional ceasefire efforts.
The ICIR reported that the US and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire, pausing weeks of hostilities, but the truce is tied to a set of strict and contested conditions that could determine whether lasting peace is achieved.
The agreement, announced by Trump on Tuesday, April 6, provides for a two-week halt in military operations.
It followed more than a month of coordinated strikes involving the US and Israeli forces on Iranian targets, and rising tensions that threatened the Middle East.
According to Trump, Washington will suspend further attacks if Tehran ensures the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump said in a statement.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M