World reacts to ‘brutal’ Israeli attacks on Lebanon after US-Iran truce

Israeli forces have carried out a devastating bombardment across Lebanon, killing hundreds of people, hours after a two-week ceasefire was announced in the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said at least 203 people were killed and 1,000 others wounded in air strikes that targeted areas in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Mount Lebanon, Sidon, and several villages in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Earlier the country’s Civil Defence put the death toll at over 250.

The Israeli military said that the attack was its largest coordinated assault on Lebanon since it started a new military operation in the country on March 2, “targeting more than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites”.

In a written statement, the head of Lebanon’s syndicate of doctors, Elias Chlela, urgently called for “all physicians from all specialities” to head to any hospital they could to offer help, with one of Beirut’s biggest hospitals saying it needed donations of all blood types.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Lebanon was not part of the US-Iran truce, but mediator Pakistan said that the ceasefire included the country.  US President Donald Trump said Lebanon was “separate” and not part of the agreement.

Here’s how the world has reacted to the attacks:

Lebanon

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called the attacks on densely populated areas a “full-fledged war crime.”

⁠“Today’s crime, coinciding with the ceasefire agreement declared in the region — an agreement that Israel and its political and security apparatus have failed to uphold — is a serious test for the international community and a blatant challenge to all international laws, norms, and conventions, which Israel violates daily through its unprecedented campaign of human assassination in modern history,” Berri said.

“It is also a test for all Lebanese — political, religious, and civil leaders — to unite in solidarity with the martyrs. May God have mercy on the martyrs, grant a speedy recovery to the wounded, and protect Lebanon,” he added.

Hezbollah

The Lebanese armed group said it had a “right” to respond to the attacks.

“We affirm that the blood of the martyrs and the wounded will not be shed in vain, and that today’s massacres, like all acts of aggression and savage crimes, confirm our natural and legal right to resist the occupation and respond to its aggression,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told the news agency Reuters that the Israeli strikes were “a grave violation of the ceasefire”, adding there would be “repercussions for the entire agreement” if they continued.

Israel

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel “insisted on separating the war with Iran with the fighting in Lebanon in order to change the reality in Lebanon”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told a news conference that Israel would “continue to strike” Lebanon as the US-Iran ceasefire did not apply to Hezbollah.

Iran

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that it will respond to the attacks on Lebanon if Israel does not stop the assault.

“We issue a firm warning to the United States, which violates treaties, and to its Zionist ally, its executioner: if the aggression against beloved Lebanon does not cease immediately, we will fulfil our duty and deliver a response,” the IRGC said in a statement carried on Iran’s state-owned TV channel, using a reference to Israel.

In a post on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the terms of the ceasefire were “clear and explicit: the US must choose — ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both.”

“The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” he added.

US

President Donald Trump told the US public broadcaster PBS that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal with Iran due to Hezbollah.

“That’ll get taken care of too,” he reportedly said, adding: “That’s a separate skirmish.”

Vice President JD Vance told reporters that there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” regarding Iran’s position on Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire deal; however, contradicting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the key intermediary in the US-Iran ceasefire talks, who had said the truce would include Lebanon.

“The Israelis, as I understand it … have actually offered to, frankly, to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon, because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful,” Vance said, without elaborating.

Pakistan

Pakistan’s Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary has told Al Jazeera that the bombing of Lebanon “creates a negative atmosphere”.

Pakistan believes all parties must adhere to the ceasefire agreement, he also said, warning that if the peace process is undermined, “it will not be in the interests of any party”.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday night also expressed “deep concern” over ceasefire violations in Lebanon, in a call with Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, according to the country’s foreign ministry.

As the mediator of the two-week ceasefire, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had explicitly mentioned Lebanon as part of the truce.

“I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY,” Sharif had said in a post on X when announcing the ceasefire early on Wednesday morning.

Qatar

The foreign ministry condemned the “brutal series” of Israeli attacks on Lebanon that had killed hundreds of people, calling the attacks a “dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sister Lebanese Republic, the rules of international humanitarian law, and United Nations Security Council Resolution (1701).”

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities by compelling the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their barbaric massacres and repeated attacks on Lebanon, and to hold them accountable for respecting international covenants and laws,” a statement posted on X read.

It added that Qatar was in “full solidarity” with Lebanon.

France

The ceasefire agreed ⁠by ⁠Iran and the US must also cover military actions ⁠in Lebanon, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday, ⁠adding France condemned “massive” Israeli strikes the previous day.

Barrot added that he expects Iran to make ‌a series of concessions as part of the peace talks due to start in Pakistan.

“Iran must give up to have nuclear weapons and ⁠means to obtain them, ⁠must give up using its missiles and drones to threaten countries in the ⁠region and give up supporting ⁠groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and ⁠Houthis who destabilise the region,” he said in an interview with Radio ‌Station France International.

Egypt

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Israel’s attacks on Lebanon a “premeditated intent” to undermine regional and international efforts to reduce escalation.

The ministry added that the attacks were an attempt by Israel to drag the region into “total chaos”.

Turkiye

The foreign ministry said in a statement that it “firmly” condemns Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

“These attacks are worsening the humanitarian situation in the country,” said the ministry.

“The international community must act immediately to put an end to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and protect civilians,” it added.

Spain

In a post on X, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Netanyahu’s “contempt for life and international law is intolerable” in light of the attacks.

“It’s time to speak clearly: – Lebanon must be included in the ceasefire. – The international community must condemn this new violation of international law. – The European Union must suspend its Association Agreement with Israel. – And there must be no impunity for these criminal acts,” Sanchez said.

On Thursday, Spain’s ⁠Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares accused Israel of violating international law ⁠and the newly brokered two-week ceasefire by carrying out ⁠airstrikes on Lebanon.

“Yesterday we saw how Israel, flouting the ceasefire and in violation of international ⁠law, dropped hundreds of ⁠bombs on Lebanon,” Albares told lawmakers in the lower house.

Italy

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he spoke to the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and expressed solidarity for the “unjustified and unacceptable attacks he is suffering from Israel.”

“We want to avoid there being a second Gaza. We will reiterate this concept to the Israeli Ambassador as well, whom I have summoned to the Farnesina. We condemn the bombings on the Lebanese civilian population, including the gunfire incidents suffered by our UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon] troops, for which we continue to demand guarantees of total safety. We must absolutely avoid any further expansion of the conflict that would jeopardise the ceasefire in Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Tajani added.

United Kingdom

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the US-Iran ceasefire must include Lebanon, where Israel has continued deadly attacks.

In comments quoted by the Reuters news agency, Cooper also said shipping through the Strait of Hormuz must be toll-free, pushing back against reports that Iran plans to charge transit fees for passage.

Australia

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government “firmly believes” that the ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran “has to apply to Lebanon as well”.

Speaking to reporters in Brisbane, Albanese said that the truce was “an important step forward”, but that it was also “a fragile peace, [and] we want it to lead to an agreement”.

“I know that many Australians are concerned about the events that are occurring in Lebanon. This is a matter of not just the impact there, but the impact that it’s having right around the world,” he added.

Syria

Israel has violated international law, international humanitarian law, and the principles of the UN Charter, Syria’s foreign ministry said.

The ministry called for an immediate ceasefire and full implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions to ensure the protection of civilians and respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, in a statement shared on X.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry also reiterated its solidarity with “sisterly” Lebanon, and urged the international community to “assume its responsibilities in confronting Israeli violations”.

China

A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said “Lebanon’s sovereignty and security should not be violated” and that “the safety of civilian lives and property must be guaranteed”.

Beijing urged “a cooling down of the regional situation”.

European Union

The ⁠US-Iran ceasefire agreement ⁠should include Lebanon, the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday, adding that Hezbollah must disarm.

“Israeli actions are putting the US-Iran ceasefire under severe strain. The Iran ⁠truce should extend ⁠to Lebanon,” Kallas posted on X.

“Israeli ⁠strikes killed hundreds ⁠last night, ⁠making it hard to argue that such heavy-handed actions ‌fall within self-defence,” she said.

United Nations

The deputy spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Farhan Haq, on Wednesday said the UN “strongly condemns” Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

“The United Nations strongly condemns the strikes by Israel across Lebanon that resulted in significant civilian casualties,” said Haq. “We continue to call on all sides to avail themselves of diplomatic channels, cease hostilities”, and use the new US-Iran ceasefire as an opportunity to prevent further loss of life.”

UN rights chief Volker Turk said the attacks were “horrific”.

“The scale of the killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific,” he said in a statement. “Such carnage, within hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief. It places enormous pressure on a fragile peace, which is so desperately needed by civilians.”

On Thursday, Guterres reiterated his call, with his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric saying in a statement that “ongoing military activity in Lebanon” poses a “grave risk” to the ceasefire between the US and Iran.

Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was “outraged by the devastating death and destruction” in densely populated areas across Lebanon.

“Any comprehensive agreement for the region must consider the safety, protection and dignity of civilians in Lebanon,” said an ICRC statement.

“After more than five weeks of hostilities, people urgently need respite from the violence,” it added.