ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon have killed over 200 and injured more than 1,000 others, its health minister said on Thursday, with Tel Aviv asserting that the US-Iran temporary ceasefire does not include Lebanon.  

On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it had targeted over 100 alleged Hezbollah sites within 10 minutes across Lebanon, despite the announcement of a two-week ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran that brought a tentative halt to the regional conflict.

When asked whether Lebanon is included in the ceasefire agreement, Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine indirectly responded that “the death toll is 203, with 1,000 wounded,” according to Lebanese state media.

The strikes were mainly concentrated in Beirut’s southern suburbs, also hitting the eastern Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, places where the Iran-backed Hezbollah group maintains a presence. 

In a Thursday statement, the Israeli military announced it had killed the secretary to Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem in Beirut in the Wednesday attacks.

While the Iranian 10-point peace plan, agreed to by US President Donald Trump, calls for a halt to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the assertion, saying it will continue its ground military operation in the country.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said that Lebanon is not a part of the agreement.

Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have accused Washington of violating the 10-point agreement by proceeding with their military operation in Lebanon. Esmail Qaani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, stressed that a “severe and regrettable punishment” awaits the perpetrators of the bombardment.

Mohsen Rezaei, a senior IRGC commander, also warned of retaliation, stressing that “the responsibility for the collapse of the ceasefire lies with America.”

In a now-deleted X post, Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, said that the US and Iran are scheduled to hold talks in Islamabad later on Thursday, “despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by the Israeli regime to sabotage the diplomatic initiative.”

The Lebanese government has found itself in an unenviable position amid the conflict, having both made clear its intentions to restrict weapons to state control and disarm Hezbollah while also vocally condemning Israeli aggression and the extent of civilian casualties in the Levantine state.