BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes across Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 87 people and injuring 722, officials said, with densely populated neighborhoods in the capital, Beirut, among the hardest hit.
Hospitals across the city and surrounding areas issued urgent calls for blood donations as medical supplies ran low amid mounting casualties. Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine described the situation as catastrophic, with civil defense teams still searching through damaged buildings and assisting the wounded.
Following the attacks, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on international allies to intervene and halt the strikes "by all available means." President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks, accusing Israel of repeatedly violating ceasefire commitments over the past 15 months and disregarding international law.
The Israeli military said the strikes were part of a new operation, dubbed "Eternal Darkness," targeting Hezbollah command and control centers in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as in Beirut.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the country would continue operations in Lebanon, treating the conflict there as separate from actions against Iran.
"We insisted on differentiating the arenas between Iran and Lebanon to change the reality in Lebanon and remove threats to northern residents (in Israel)," Katz said in a video statement. He called the strikes "the largest concentrated attack Hezbollah has suffered since the Pager operation" in September 2024 and issued a warning to Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem.
Iran, in response, is finalizing preparations for "deterrent operations" against Israeli military targets, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Tasnim news agency reported that Iran may withdraw from the ceasefire agreement if Israeli strikes in Lebanon continue.
The attacks came hours after a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran went into effect early Wednesday. Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz briefly resumed after the truce but was suspended again following the Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to Iranian media and ship-tracking service MarineTraffic.