Buildings in central Beirut reduced to smoldering rubble by deadly barrage of Israeli airstrikes

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(8 Apr 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Beirut, Lebanon - 8 April 2026 ++QUALITY AS INCOMING++ 1. Various of destroyed buildings, debris and smoke 2. Fire engines in street 3. Fire and smoke inside damage building, pan to crews outside 4. Various of emergency services in street, damage, debris and smoke 5. Fire engine in street 6. Security forces in street 7. Security forces and ambulance, mound of destruction in background 8. Security forces and truck in street 9. Mound of destruction STORYLINE: Israeli strikes hit several dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut without warning Wednesday afternoon, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Lebanon’s health ministry said dozens were killed and hundreds wounded in an early estimate. Israel had said the agreement does not extend to its war with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, although mediator Pakistan said it does. The fleeting sense of relief among Lebanese after the ceasefire announcement turned into panic with what Israel’s military called its largest coordinated strike in the current war, hitting more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley. Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital, where a huge number of people displaced by war have taken shelter. Explosions interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a bustling, blue-sky afternoon. Ambulances raced toward open flames. Apartment buildings were struck. Associated Press journalists saw charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at one of Beirut’s busiest intersections in the central Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential area. Using forklifts, rescue workers removed smoldering debris and sifted through ruins for survivors. There was no sign of Hezbollah launching strikes against Israel in the first couple of hours after the attacks. Central Beirut has been targeted before, but not by so many strikes at once and in the middle of the day. Israel had rarely struck central Beirut since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2 but has regularly struck southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs. She said Lebanon’s government is ready to enter into negotiations with Israel for an end to hostilities, an offer that the president previously made. Israel has not responded. “There are calls and efforts being made as we speak,” Sayed said. Israel’s military said it had targeted missile launchers, command centers and intelligence infrastructure. Residents and local officials denied that the buildings hit were military sites. Before the new strikes, a Hezbollah official told the AP that the group was giving a chance for mediators to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, but “we have not announced our adherence to the ceasefire since the Israelis are not adhering to it.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. The Hezbollah official said the group will not accept a return to the pre-March 2 status quo, when Israel carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire being nominally in place since the last full-blown Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November 2024. “We will not accept for the Israelis to continue behaving as they did before this war with regards to attacks,” he said. AP video shot by Fadi Tawil, Ali Sharaffedine and Bilal Hussein =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6ca76de82651474ba51edf2260824fac