Lebanon says Israel strikes on central Beirut kill at least six
The Hindu
Israeli strikes in central Beirut reportedly kill six, escalating tensions amid ongoing conflict with Hezbollah and regional instability.
Lebanon said Israel struck central Beirut early Wednesday (March 18, 2026) without warning, killing at least six people, as the Israeli military announced it was targeting the country’s south.
Lebanon was drawn into the West Asia war on March 2 when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in response to U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Israel has responded with intense strikes in multiple Lebanese regions and ground operations in the south, and has hit central Beirut several times, with and without warning.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said a strike in the early hours of Wednesday (March 18, 2026) hit an apartment in the central Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, a densely populated area close to the government’s headquarters and several embassies.
It said the strike occurred near where the Israeli military last week hit a Beirut branch of the Hezbollah-linked financial firm Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
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