Israel Strikes Beirut: Hundreds Dead as Bombs Hit Civilians

Beirut, Lebanon - In just 10 minutes, Israel carried out one of the worst mass-killings in Lebanon since the country's civil war ended in 1990. Omar Rakha, a Beirut resident, heard the warplanes but did not feel the explosions - it was only when he woke up face down on the street, bleeding, that he realized what had happened. The building next to his in the Barbour neighborhood of central Beirut had been destroyed by two Israeli bombs, and Rakha then ran through the flaming wreckage to find his sister, screaming.

Beirut officials and residents say the thousand-pound bombs dropped by Israel in the mission dubbed "Operation Eternal Darkness" mainly hit civilians, with no signs of Hezbollah or other militant targets. "There's no Hezbollah here," said one resident surveying the devastation. The strikes killed hundreds and left the city in shock and mourning.

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"I woke up to the sound of the planes and then the explosions," said Nadia Harb, another Beirut resident. "When I opened my eyes, I saw the smoke and the flames - it was horrific. I ran outside and saw bodies lying everywhere."

The Israeli government has claimed the strikes were part of a broader operation to target Hezbollah and other militant groups, but officials in Beirut say the evidence points to a deliberate attack on civilians. "There's nothing military here, it's all residential," said one civil defense worker sifting through the rubble.

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The strikes come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, with Iran and Israel engaged in an ongoing conflict. Israel has carried out previous attacks in Lebanon, but the scale and devastation of this latest operation has shocked the country.

"We're just ordinary people trying to live our lives," said Samir Abou Fadel, a Beirut resident. "Why are they doing this to us?" The Lebanese government has condemned the strikes as a "war crime" and is calling for an international investigation.

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As rescue efforts continue and the city begins to grapple with the aftermath, the people of Beirut are left to wonder why their homes and loved ones have been torn apart. "There's no Hezbollah here," one resident repeated, "just our families."