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Lebanon official labels Israeli strikes ‘very dangerous turning point’

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by Sophie Brams - 04/08/26 2:44 PM ET

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by Sophie Brams - 04/08/26 2:44 PM ET

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A senior Lebanese official condemned Israel’s wave of airstrikes inside the country on Wednesday, labeling the attack that came hours after a temporary ceasefire was announced between the U.S., Israel and Iran a “very dangerous turning point.”

“These hits are now at the heart of Beirut … Half of the sheltered (internally displaced people) are in Beirut in this area,” Haneen Sayed, Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs, told The Associated Press in an interview, adding that the country’s government was ready to enter negotiations with Israel.

“There are calls and efforts being made as we speak,” she said. Israel has reportedly not responded.

The Israeli military announced early Wednesday morning that it had launched what it called its largest coordinated strikes against Hezbollah, hitting more than 100 military sites and command centers linked to the Iran-backed group in Beirut, Beqaa and southern Lebanon.

Most of the targets were “located within the heart of the civilian population,” according to an Israeli military statement obtained by the Times of Israel. Civilian evacuation warnings were reportedly issued in some areas of southern Beirut and southern Lebanon ahead of the barrage, but none were given for central Beirut.

The attacks targeted infrastructure in Beirut, Beqaa and southern Lebanon, most of which the military said were “located within the heart of the civilian population,” according to a statement obtained by the Times of Israel.

Al Jazeera reported Wednesday that at least 254 people were killed in Lebanon, with more than 1,165 others wounded, citing reports from Lebanese officials. More than 1,530 people in Lebanon have been killed since the new conflict erupted in early March, and more than a million more displaced, according to the AP.

An aid worker for a Chicago-based humanitarian nonprofit described the situation unfolding in the capital city as “total chaos” in an NBC News interview.

“It’s insane,” Dr. Tania Baban, the Lebanon country director for MedGlobal, said. “This is an open war crime with a clear violation of any international law possible — and no one is stopping this.”

The latest airstrikes have threatened to upend the fragile truce announced by President Trump on Tuesday evening, in which the U.S. agreed to pause military operations for two weeks in exchange for Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz.

The optimism was short-lived, however, as Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Tehran had closed the strait again in response to the Israeli attacks in Lebanon. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the report “false.”

There have been conflicting signals about whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire since it was announced. Israel says it was not, while Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped mediate negotiations, said the opposite.

Trump told “PBS News Hour” in a phone interview that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire, referring to Wednesday’s attack as a “separate skirmish.”

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