Israel's largest strikes kill 182 in Lebanon
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- Israel launched what it called the largest wave of air strikes in the current conflict, hitting more than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites across Lebanon in 10 minutes on Wednesday.
- Lebanon's health ministry reported at least 182 people killed and 890 wounded, with strikes hitting the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
- Netanyahu's office and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt both said the US-Iran ceasefire mediated by Pakistan did not cover Lebanon, in comments that preceded the strikes.
- Hezbollah said it retains the right to respond and warned displaced families to wait for a formal ceasefire, though it has not claimed any attack since the deal was announced.
- President Joseph Aoun's government made the historic announcement that Lebanon is open to negotiate directly with Israel — the first such offer — but Israel has ignored it.
- The war has killed more than 1,700 people, including at least 130 children, and displaced over 1.2 million — one in five Lebanese, mostly from Shia communities.
- Israeli military sources quoted by Israeli media acknowledged the army has no intention to advance further into Lebanon and cannot disarm Hezbollah by force.
Why it matters: With 1.2 million already displaced and Israel ignoring Lebanon's unprecedented offer to negotiate directly, the deadliest single wave of strikes yet exposes the gap between the US-Iran framework and the Lebanon front — where even Israeli military sources concede Hezbollah cannot be disarmed by force.
