Surprise Attack: Israel's Deadly Airstrikes Unfold Amidst Expected Ceasefire in Lebanon

Sat Apr 11 2026 09:10:21 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

What was supposed to be a moment of relief for Lebanon turned into tragedy as Israeli forces launched a significant airstrike, resulting in over 200 fatalities just hours after a ceasefire announcement.

In a shocking turn of events, Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon resulted in at least 203 deaths and over 1,000 injuries, contradicting a recently announced two-week ceasefire. The strikes, targeting Hezbollah positions, led to widespread condemnation but no critique from the U.S. as tensions continue to escalate in the region.

The guns were supposed to have fallen silent.

It was, after all, just hours after US President Donald Trump had announced that a two-week ceasefire had been agreed to halt the war in the Middle East.

But just as the region was breathing a sigh of relief, Israeli jets conducted a 10-minute blitz across Lebanon - a massive aerial attack that killed at least 203 people and wounded more than 1,000 others, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Local and Western condemnation was swift and widespread, but no criticism came from the US against its ally in this war.

Iran said this was 'a grave violation' of the ceasefire deal and has asked the US to halt the Israeli 'aggression'.

Lebanese officials say more than 1,700 people have been killed since Israel launched its latest campaign in Lebanon last month. Israel has said its operations are aimed at weakening Hezbollah and achieving what it calls remaining military objectives.

The war began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February - prompting retaliation from Tehran against US allies in the Gulf, and from Iran's proxies - Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen - against Israel.

In response, Israel began striking Hezbollah and even ordered its troops to occupy large parts of Lebanon.

The two-week pause in the fighting was announced by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif - who has been serving as mediator between the warring parties. Sharif said the US and its allies 'have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere'.

But the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire did not include Lebanon.

Donald Trump also said Lebanon was not part of the deal 'because of Hezbollah'. According to him the war in Lebanon is 'a separate skirmish'.

The IDF said that within 10 minutes it had 'completed the largest coordinated strike across Lebanon since the start of Operation Roaring Lion' - the code name for the Israeli operation against Iran. Densely populated parts of central Beirut were hit in strikes described by officials as among the heaviest since Hezbollah joined the conflict in early March.

Civil defence teams are now combing through buildings, but there is little hope for people who still have loved ones missing. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stated that civilians were targeted - the casualties were 'martyrs and wounded'. President Joseph Aoun described it as a 'massacre'.