Israel escalates Lebanon campaign amid disputed U.S.-Iran ceasefire

A wave of Israeli airstrikes swept across Lebanon on Wednesday, leaving dozens dead and hundreds wounded, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the surge in violence, saying that the latest attacks amount to a “massacre.”

The escalation persists despite a two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran. 

Brokered by Pakistan, the deal was meant to pause the war which started when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 — prompting Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon, to strike Israel.

However, the terms of the ceasefire are under dispute. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the agreement would not halt Israel’s campaign in Lebanon. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire agreement the U.S. has with Iran, according to Axios.

Their comments contradict Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who said the agreement includes a total cessation of hostilities, specifically naming Lebanon.

Military pressure intensifies

According to the Lebanese state news agency NNA, consecutive explosions shook Beirut as bombs struck multiple districts simultaneously. In the south, Israeli forces maintained a relentless assault, including a pre-dawn airstrike near a hospital that killed four people.

The Israeli military has also issued a series of urgent warnings to residents of Tyre, signalling plans to strike the southern city. 

This follows what the military described as its largest co-ordinated strike of the war to date.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that his government remains committed to separating the Iranian conflict from the war in Lebanon. 

He said the goal is to change the reality on the ground and eliminate threats to northern Israeli residents who have faced heavy fire throughout the war. 

Backing this, the Israel Defence Forces’ military chief vowed to “utilize every operational opportunity” to dismantle Hezbollah.

The attacks in Lebanon have drawn concern from world leaders. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as other world leaders, issued a joint statement Wednesday calling for a lasting truce.

“This will be crucial to protect the civilian population of Iran and ensure security in the region,” the leaders said in the statement, which was issued by a spokesperson for the European Council.

They noted that a ceasefire could “avert a severe global energy crisis” and should include Lebanon. 

The group also pledged to “contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” though they did not provide specifics on how that would be enforced.

Meanwhile, Iran’s UN Ambassador in Geneva Ali Bahreini warned in an interview with Reuters that continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon would have “some consequences.”

‘Dangerous turning point’

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs, Haneen Sayed, described the strikes in the capital as a “very dangerous turning point.”

“These hits are now at the heart of Beirut.… Half of the sheltered [internally displaced persons] are in Beirut in this area,” Sayed said, noting she had just driven by the affected areas.

She said the Lebanese government is prepared to negotiate directly with Israel to end hostilities — an offer previously made by the president — but Israel has yet to respond.

“There are calls and efforts being made as we speak,” Sayed said.