300 Lifeless in Beirut as ‘Deadliest Day’ Shatters Hopes for New Ceasefire

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300 Lifeless in Beirut as ‘Deadliest Day’ Shatters Hopes for New Ceasefire

4 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Apr 10, 2026 06:32 PM IST

A collection of explosions tore by means of Beirut on Thursday afternoon, shattering any sense of normalcy inside minutes. At 2.14 pm, the primary blast hit with a power that mimicked the crash of heavy metallic collapsing close by. What initially felt like a single incident shortly escalated into one thing much more devastating. Inside seconds a number of strikes adopted, echoing throughout the town.

A reporter of the information company Related Press recalled the horrifying moments when smoke swelled over Beirut’s skyline, stretching from the seaside corniche to its busiest junctions, reducing throughout each rich districts and poorer neighbourhoods. The blasts got here one after one other.

‘Tree, growth, growth’

Then got here the repeated blasts. Growth. Growth. Growth. Quickly, folks stopped counting, the AP reporter recalled.

Concern unfold simply as shortly contained in the information company’s workplace constructing, the place a workers member ran in from downstairs, and her face was pale and her lips trembling with the shock that gripped these caught within the second.

Over 300 lifeless in deadliest day

Greater than 300 folks have been killed, together with greater than 100 ladies, kids and the aged. Late-night TV exhibits stated it rivalled one of many worst days throughout Israel’s 1982 invasion of Beirut, in August of that 12 months, when roughly 300 folks have been killed over some 10 hours of bombardment. Acrid smoke, frantic calls and appears of horror adopted throughout the town, the AP reporter stated.

Ceasefire hopes shattered

Earlier than Wednesday’s bombardment, many Lebanese had hoped {that a} ceasefire introduced hours earlier within the Iran battle would deliver a pause within the greater than a month of preventing between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, the report stated. It’s nonetheless not clear what the targets have been. Israel stated it hit Hezbollah command and management centres, however the one Hezbollah official it reported killing was an aide to the group’s secretary basic.

Panic on the streets

As bombs fell, panicked commuters obtained caught in site visitors whereas attempting to hurry residence to maneuver their households, not sure the place Israel would possibly hit subsequent. Others made frantic calls on an overwhelmed communication community, searching for family members or yelling at family to pack up and go away. Confused drivers stared on the acrid black and white smoke billowing over the town, attempting to find out which highway to take.

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‘A lot horror and worry’

Throughout the road, Sahar Charara was huddled in her condominium. When the mud cleared, she noticed an aged girl frozen in place and screaming for minutes, AP reported. “There have been a lot horror and worry in her screaming,” stated Charara. Later, she discovered that one other neighbour had fallen from a balcony and died from the affect.

Buildings collapse, households flee

A strike hit close to the house of Nahida Khalil, near the corniche. Then she noticed smoke additionally coming from the course of her brother’s constructing. The following quarter-hour felt like an eternity as she tried to name her brother. When his spouse responded, she was screaming that their constructing had been hit. “I lived by means of all of the wars since 1975. I by no means felt this worry,” stated Khalil. “These strikes are supposed to terrorise… and to spoil the ceasefire and trigger division” between the Lebanese.

The a hundred and first strike

The final strike got here shortly after midnight, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs. Mohammed Mehdi’s barbershop, in operation for 30 years, was destroyed. “They carried out 100 strikes. Ours was the a hundred and first,” he stated. “I’m nonetheless in shock, and I don’t know the place issues are going. I misplaced my job, and this loss could final for some time.”

(With inputs from AP)

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