Plumes of smoke covered Beirut and its southern suburbs’ skyline due to the intense Israeli attacks [Fadel Itani/AFP/Getty]
Israel unleashed hell on Lebanon and its capital on Tuesday, hours before a ceasefire deal was expected to be announced by governments of the two countries.
While Beirut has been targeted multiple times since Israel dramatically escalated its war on Lebanon in mid-September, Tuesday’s airstrikes were the most violent, with a string of deadly attacks in different locations in the city.
The strikes began shortly after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders.
A building in the Basta area – already hit twice before – was destroyed early on Tuesday, killing several people and wounding dozens.
That strike was followed by several other evening attacks including in Zuqaq al-Blat, Mousaitbeh, Al-Mazraa and Hamra – busy residential and commercial hubs in western and central Beirut.
Many casualties were reported in those strikes, which mainly hit certain floors and not did not level entire buildings.
Thermal balloons were also seen over the city.
A sense of hysteria reigned over Beirut as people rushed to evacuate their neighbourhoods following the warnings.
Scenes of chaos were reported in the streets as people tried to get away from the locations pinned by the Israeli military, with many civilians standing outside waiting for the strikes to happen.
“It’s been a day and evening of major panic in Beirut, lots of rumours flying around. There are multiple drones flying in the sky. Those who were able to leave the capital have left over the weekend, while the rest are staying at home to see what will happen tonight,” Yazan al-Saadi, The New Arab’s international editor and a Beirut resident said.
“It’s been a cold, wet day in the capital, and people are generally exhausted. The storm over the weekend and Monday had put lots of people on edge with its mix of thunder, sonic booms, and airstrikes. So, this day and evening really is a crescendo of violence impacting the communities here,” Al-Saadi added.
Kamil Bitar, a professor of international relations at the Saint Joseph University in Beirut, shared a video on X showing jam-packed roads as people fled.
“It should be noted that there is no Hezbollah armed presence in these areas, this is purely an attempt to terrorise people,” he wrote.
“The panic now – if only you could see the fear, the panic, the traffic, the ambulances, the planes, the flares, the strikes, the sounds, the smells, the drones… Beirut,” Mona Fawaz, a professor of urban studies and planning at the American University of Beirut wrote on X.
The overall sense in Lebanon was that Israel was conducting psychological warfare on the country’s population before any ceasefire deal is announced – assuming this will happen.
In addition to the strikes on central Beirut, the Israeli military carpet-bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs all day Tuesday.
The area’s skyline was covered in large plumes of smoke as strikes pounded the suburbs of Chiyah, Ghobeiry, Haret Hreik, Burj el-Barajneh, Hadath and other areas.
Swathes of Dahiyeh – as the southern suburbs of Beirut are locally known –have been laid waste because of Israel’s weeks-long assault. Many of Hezbollah’s leaders were killed in the area.
Evacuation orders were also issued for the coastal city of Sidon for the first time on Tuesday, with two buildings pinned by the Israeli military. The city’s suburbs have already been struck before.
The military had said it was targeting more branches belonging to Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial institution Israel says is linked to Hezbollah. More than a dozen branches belonging to that association were bombed last month in a single night.
Attacks continued further south in the coastal city of Tyre as well as other parts of southern Lebanon.
Towns and villages across the eastern Baalbek-Hermel and Beqaa governorates were also hit, with deaths and injuries reported.
