RT crew caught up in Israeli strikes on Beirut

Israel has stepped up air strikes across Lebanon, pounding central Beirut, just hours after the US and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire, according to RT correspondent Steve Sweeney, who was caught up in the attack with his cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity.

The escalation comes in an apparent violation of the truce, which mediators said was meant to include Lebanon, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting it does not apply.

The strikes hit the densely populated Barbour area of the Lebanese capital, where Sweeney’s footage shows thick smoke rising near a bridge following the strike. One of the targets was a mosque. Videos from the scene show heavily damaged and destroyed buildings, with residents still present in the area.

“The very clear message from Israel is that there is no ceasefire in Lebanon,” Sweeney said. “In fact, Israel has escalated its bombing starting in the early hours of the morning...”

Strikes were also reported across southern Lebanon, including the cities of Tyre and Nabatieh. The Lebanese state news agency NNA reported continued Israeli shelling, including artillery fire and a dawn air strike on a building near a hospital that killed four people.

Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on the southern city of Sidon killed eight people and wounded 22 others. 

The escalation comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key intermediary in the talks, announced that the warring parties had agreed to an “immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere.”

However, Netanyahu, while expressing support for the US decision to suspend strikes on Iran, stated the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon” and that the Israeli operations against Hezbollah will continue.

Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks since the deal was announced and halted strikes on Israeli targets early on Wednesday, according to sources cited by Reuters. The group said it is on the “threshold of a major historic victory” and warned displaced residents not to return home until a formal ceasefire was clearly confirmed.

Hezbollah is reportedly expected to issue a statement clarifying its position on the ceasefire and Israel’s stance.

Israel launched a military operation against Hezbollah in early March after the militant group carried out waves of strikes against the Jewish state in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli operation against the Islamic Republic.