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Israeli strike on Beirut seafront kills eight

Blood stains were on the sidewalk, with a small hole in the ground

AFP March 13, 2026 Less than a minute read

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes. PHOTO: AFP

BEIRUT:

An Israeli strike on central Beirut's seafront killed eight people early on Thursday, Lebanon's health ministry said, another attack in the heart of the capital, as Iran-backed Hezbollah launched more missiles at Israel.

The Israeli military said separately it had carried out strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs overnight against Hezbollah, which had announced a major new operation against Israel.

In a statement, the Lebanese health ministry said "the Israeli enemy strike on Ramlet al-Bayda" in the centre of Beirut killed eight people and wounded 31. An AFP correspondent at the scene saw a damaged motorcycle and two damaged cars, with the area sealed off by security forces. Blood stains were on the sidewalk, with a small hole in the ground. "We saw dead people on the ground," said Aseel Habbaj, a displaced woman who had been sheltering in a nearby tent after fleeing Israeli bombings in other areas of Lebanon.