Israel has unleashed one of its deadliest bombardments of the war on Lebanon, with more than 120 people reported killed after a sweeping wave of airstrikes hit Beirut, as well as targets in southern and eastern Lebanon, according to local officials and medical sources.

Jets roared over the capital before dawn, slamming precision munitions into what the IDF describes as “Hezbollah command centres, rocket launch sites and weapons warehouses” in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Fireballs lit up densely packed neighbourhoods as apartment blocks shook and panicked families fled into smoke‑filled streets.

Further south, strikes pounded villages near the border and areas around Tyre and Nabatieh, while in the east, explosions were reported close to the Bekaa Valley, a long‑suspected corridor for Iranian weapons transfers. Civil defence teams say entire residential blocks were flattened in some locations, with rescuers digging through rubble by hand to reach people trapped below.

Lebanese health authorities warn the death toll is likely to rise, with hospitals overwhelmed by waves of casualties and running low on blood supplies and critical medicines. Among the dead are believed to be both Hezbollah fighters and civilians, including children.

Israel insists it is hitting “only terror infrastructure” in response to intensified rocket and missile fire from Lebanese territory, blaming Hezbollah for “using civilians as human shields.” Beirut’s government condemns the strikes as “indiscriminate aggression” and appeals for urgent international intervention.

As images of blazing towers, shattered streets and crowded morgues race across global media, diplomats fear this night of blood could become the tipping point that turns a limited border conflict into a full‑scale regional war.