Israel launched its largest assault on Lebanon since invading the country last month, escalating the campaign against Iran-aligned Hezbollah in an operation that killed at least 200 people.

The Israeli military said it targeted more than 100 Hezbollah command centers and military sites within 10 minutes on Wednesday. That included bombing parts of central Beirut, with strikes reported without warning in dense residential and commercial areas across the capital.

The surge came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a nascent truce with Iran, sowing confusion over whether Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah was part of the agreement. Top Iranian officials including Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said the ongoing attacks constitute ceasefire violations, though U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington never suggested fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would stop.

“We never made that promise,” he said on a visit to Hungary. “We never indicated that was gonna be the case.”

Iran could withdraw from the agreement if Israel keeps up its Lebanon campaign, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, while the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz was halted in response to the attacks, Fars said.

Diplomatic efforts are ongoing, with U.S. and Iranian officials set to begin talks in Islamabad on Saturday. There were signs on Thursday the ceasefire is largely holding, though Israel continued to strike targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday.

Vance said Israel had agreed to “check themselves a little bit in Lebanon” to support the talks.

Israel’s operation caused explosions in Beirut neighborhoods, while footage on social media showed thick dust and black smoke blanketing parts of the city. Apartment buildings and busy commercial districts were hit, forcing residents to flee into the streets.

Hezbollah said it fired rockets toward northern Israel in response.

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday said it killed a close associate of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem along with several sites operated by the militia.

Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said 203 people were killed and over 1,000 wounded. About 100 Red Cross ambulances were dispatched to transport casualties to hospitals, and the American University of Beirut Medical Center issued an urgent call for donors of all blood types as emergency services struggled to cope with the influx of casualties.

The Israeli army on Wednesday vowed to continue operations against Hezbollah “with determination.” The country began the campaign shortly after the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on Feb. 28, after the militant group fired rockets across Israel’s northern border.

The two sides previously engaged in a full-blown conflict for about two months in 2024, before a tentative ceasefire in November of that year. The Lebanese government has pledged to disarm Hezbollah, but hasn’t succeeded and the group refuses to do so.

Tensions were further heightened by gunfire outside the U.S. embassy in Beirut on Wednesday, according to local TV channel LBCI.

Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed over 1,530 people, according to the health ministry, prior to Wednesday’s attacks. The Israeli military said hundreds of Hezbollah fighters have also been killed.

The fighting has displaced more than one million people across the country, nearly a fifth of the population, as Israel aims to establish a security buffer zone up to the Litani River, located roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Israeli border.

--------

—With assistance from Sherif Tarek and Ethan Bronner.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.