Hundreds dead and injured in fierce Israeli attacks on Lebanon

(Patria) - Hundreds of people have been killed and injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Naseredin said, the state news agency reported.

Naseredin says today's attacks have resulted in "hundreds dead and injured," NNA reports.

The attacks include some of the most extensive Israeli strikes in central Beirut in recent decades.

Air strikes hit at least three areas in Beirut's downtown, including a strike near the central coastal promenade, according to CNN analysis of video.

Beirut's downtown, which is predominantly Sunni and Christian, is rarely a target of Israeli attacks.

According to media reports, the attacks targeted residential areas with a majority Sunni population, meaning they are located outside Hezbollah-controlled areas.

Another video shows a partially collapsed building in West Beirut from which thick clouds of black smoke rise into the sky.

Ambulance sirens have been sounding almost non-stop since the attacks began, CNN reporters on the ground reported.

The Israeli military (IDF) announced today that it attacked more than 100 locations "within ten minutes" in Lebanon, in the largest coordinated attack since the beginning of the current offensive in that country.

A military statement stated that the attacks were aimed at Hezbollah-related locations in several areas, including Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.

The IDF claims that the targets included command and control centers and other infrastructure used to launch attacks on Israeli targets.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the Israeli claims.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on "all friends of Lebanon" to stop Israeli military actions in the country "by all available means" after a large wave of air strikes.

"Israel continues to expand attacks that have hit densely populated residential areas, causing casualties among unarmed civilians in various parts of Lebanon, especially in the capital Beirut," Salam wrote on social media.

His appeal followed the IDF's announcement that it had carried out "the largest attacks" across Lebanon since the start of the operation against Hezbollah.

Salam said the Israeli military's actions show "complete disregard" for international law, adding: "All friends of Lebanon are called upon to help us stop these attacks by all available means."

The attacks were carried out several hours after the US and Iran announced a two-week truce aimed at paving the way for a final agreement to end the war that Washington and Tel Aviv launched against Tehran on February 28, in which thousands of people were killed and injured.