Middle East

WHO, Lebanese hospitals at risk of running out of medical supplies

Israeli Defence Minister Katz: Hezbollah seeks ceasefire

8 April 2026Aggiornato il 9 aprile 2026, ore 16:45

“Beirut travolta dai raid, vittime per le strade e panico”

6' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

United States: "US-Iran ceasefire agreement does not cover Lebanon"
Tajani to Israel: "Italian soldiers are not to be touched"
Crosetto: "UN intervenes"

6' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Hezbollah is seeking a ceasefire and stated that Israeli raids have killed more than 200 militants in Lebanon in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to over 1,400 since the clashes began. Katz said Israel is ready to respond forcefully if Iran launches attacks and continues to strike targets throughout Lebanon, including the Litani area.

Oms, hospitals at risk of running out of essential medical supplies

Some hospitals in Lebanon may run out of essential medical supplies within a few days due to the exponential increase in the number of injured caused by the recent Israeli raids. This was reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO), quoted by Haaretz, pointing out that supplies are rapidly dwindling after the numerous casualties recorded in the last day. "Some trauma management materials are already in short supply and we may run out of them in a few days," said the WHO representative in Lebanon, Abdinasir Abubaka. Life-saving trauma treatment kits include bandages, antibiotics and anaesthetics needed to treat the war wounded, the WHO explained.

The death toll, meanwhile, grows more dramatic with each passing day. In the last few hours, atat least 17 people were killed and several others wounded in Israeli air raids on southern Lebanon. This was written by the Lebanese news agency NNA. An Israeli attack on the town of Zrariyeh in southern Lebanon killed more than ten people, including women and children, after hitting a residential building. Another Israeli air raid in Abbassiyeh killed at least seven people and injured others, with figures still preliminary. The Health Ministry said the death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since 2 March had risen to 1,739.

Israeli armed forces claimed to have hit a Hezbollah commander in Beirut, after Lebanese state media reported that Israel had targeted a residential neighbourhood in the capital. "Earlier, the IDF hit a Hezbollah commander in Beirut," the military said, without identifying the target. Footage published by Lebanese media showed that a building in the Tallet Khayat neighbourhood, outside the Hezbollah stronghold in Dahiya, partially collapsed as a result of the attack.

Explosions and missile launches over the Lebanese capital

A massive wave of Israeli missiles hit Beirut in the space of a few minutes, simultaneously striking several neighbourhoods of the Lebanese capital, from the centre to the waterfront to the southern suburbs. This was reported by local sources and eyewitnesses. The explosions affected densely populated areas, causing panic among residents. Several testimonies speak of 'apocalyptic scenes', with buildings damaged or destroyed and columns of smoke visible in several parts of the city. Medical sources report numerous cadavers in the streets and a high number of injured people, with hospitals under pressure.

The same sources issued an urgent appeal to the population to donate blood. Rescue operations are underway in several affected areas, with ambulances and emergency teams busy reaching the bombed sites in an environment made difficult by the simultaneous attacks and damage to infrastructure.

Libano: diversi raid aerei sul centro di Beirut, le immagini delle esplosioni

Shortly before, the Israeli armed forces had claimed to have completed the largest wave of air strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon since the beginning of the fighting, hitting - with 50 fighters and 160 bombs - 100 targets in 10 minutes. According to IDF reports, among the targets hit in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon were the headquarters and intelligence offices used by the terrorist organisation to plan attacks against Israeli troops and civilians. The infrastructure of Hezbollah's missile and naval units was also targeted, as well as the resources of the elite Radwan force. The military operation was dubbed internally 'Eternal Darkness', according to the Times of Israel.

Israeli air strikes also hit the cemetery in the Lebanese village of Shmestar, in the Bekaa Valley, killing at least 10 people and wounding four others who were attending a funeral. This was reported by Al Jazeera quoting the Lebanese National News Agency. Rescuers and medics are still working at the scene.

Un gruppo di persone si allontana in fretta dal luogo di un attacco aereo israeliano a Beirut, in Libano, mercoledì 8 aprile 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Associated Press/ LaPresse Solo Italia e Spagna Associated Press/ LaPresse Solo Italia e Spagna

Residential neighbourhoods in the crosshairs

Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam accused Israel of bombing 'densely populated residential neighbourhoods, causing casualties among unarmed civilians throughout Lebanon'. According to the Minister of Health, Rakan Nassereddine, hundreds have been killed and injured across the country.

"While we welcome the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States and intensify our efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, Israel continues to expand its attacks, which have targeted densely populated residential neighbourhoods, causing casualties among unarmed civilians throughout Lebanon, and especially in the capital Beirut, with no regard for regional and international efforts to end the war, and with total disregard for the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, which Israel has never respected," the prime minister wrote on X, calling on "all friends of Lebanon to help us put an end to these attacks by any means available."

Soldati dell'esercito libanese osservano il luogo colpito da un attacco aereo israeliano a Beirut, in Libano, mercoledì 8 aprile 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Associated Press/ LaPresse Solo Italia e Spagna Associated Press/ LaPresse Solo Italia e Spagna

Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in Geneva Ali Bahreini said that Israel must respect the ceasefire in Lebanon and that any further attack would complicate the situation and have consequences. This was reported by the Lebanese daily L'Orient Le Jour.

"Hundreds of Hezbollah operatives were targeted in surprise attacks on headquarters across Lebanon, in the largest concentrated strike Hezbollah has suffered since Operation Pager" in September 2024. This was claimed by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, speaking of today's raids in Lebanon. Katz added that the leader of the pro-Iranian group Naim Qassem had been warned that "Hezbollah would pay a very high price for attacking Israel on behalf of Iran, and that it will also take its turn."

Il fumo si alza dopo un attacco aereo israeliano contro la periferia meridionale di Beirut, a Dahiyeh, in Libano, l'8 aprile 2026. Israele ha sferrato un massiccio attacco aereo contro diverse località in tutto il Libano, con numerosi bombardamenti nel centro di Beirut, il giorno dopo che Stati Uniti e Iran avevano concordato un cessate il fuoco per porre fine alle ostilità tra i due paesi. In una dichiarazione, il governo israeliano ha annunciato che il cessate il fuoco non include il Libano e che continuerà a colpire le postazioni di Hezbollah in tutto il Paese. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

United States: 'US-Iran ceasefire agreement does not cover Lebanon'

"Israel was informed late about the US-Iran deal, without being consulted, and "did not like it". The Wall Street Journal writes this, citing mediators and a source with knowledge of the facts, according to which the consultation was limited to a phone call from President Donald Trump to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shortly before the ceasefire was announced. last night. According to the sources, Israeli officials were not satisfied with the terms of the understanding, starting with the inclusion of Lebanon in the agreement, as Israel considers Iran and Lebanon to be two separate scenarios.

A version denied by the White House. "The ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran is not about Lebanon," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Axios reporter Barak Ravid.

Tajani to Israel: 'Italian soldiers are not to be touched'

'Unfortunately, the appeal launched by the Prime Minister of Italy and other international leaders has not had a positive response as far as Lebanon is concerned. An Italian Unifil column bringing elements to Beirut for repatriation was blocked by the IDF: the Israeli warning shots damaged one of our vehicles. Luckily no one was injured, but the column had to return and as soon as I leave this room I will ask the Foreign Ministry to request immediate information from the Israeli ambassador to Italia about what happened and what led to the damage to an Italian military vehicle to reiterate thatItalian soldiers in Lebanon are not to be touched. The Israeli armed forces have no authority to touch Italian soldiers'. This was said by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, replying during Question Time in the Chamber of Deputies to a question from Fdi on initiatives to avert greater involvement of Lebanon in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Ho appena dato indicazioni di convocare al Ministero degli Esteri l'ambasciatore di Israele in Italia, per chiarire quanto accaduto oggi in Libano. I militari italiani non si toccano. pic.twitter.com/x6FPCfwBDB
— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) April 8, 2026

"Unfortunately, there is no truce in Lebanon. We are deeply concerned about the repercussions of the whole crisis in the whole regional context" but "Lebanon is the most critical front", we "strongly hope we can start talking again, but it seems to me that the signals that are coming in these hours are going in a negative direction", Tajani continued. "We have repeatedly asked Israel to refrain from disproportionate reactions to Hezbollah's unacceptable actions that have dragged the country into a new devastating conflict," added the foreign minister, who then summoned Israel's ambassador to Italia for clarification.

It was a Lince - a light tactical multi-role vehicle belonging to the Italian Army - that was hit by warning shots from the IDF in Lebanon. According to qualified sources, the vehicle was in a column with several other Italian-led vehicles and was on its way to refuelling. The shots hit the tyres and the bumper.

Pompieri, volontari e soccorritori camminano tra le macerie ancora fumanti sul luogo di un attacco aereo israeliano che ha colpito un edificio a Beirut, in Libano, mercoledì 8 aprile 2026. (Foto AP/Hassan Ammar) Associated Press/ LaPresse Solo Italia e Spagna

Crosetto: 'UN to intervene'

The Italian Minister of Defence also reacted to the incident. "I ask the United Nations to intervene with the Israeli authorities as a matter of urgency to clarify the incident, to take all the necessary measures to guarantee the safety of the Italian contingent and all the Unifil personnel, and to firmly reiterate respect for the mandate and the protection due to the blue helmets". Thus on X the Defence Minister Guido Crosetto regarding the shots fired at a Unifil vehicle. "Italia will continue to support the peace mission, but demands full respect for Unifil's role and the protection of its soldiers," he added. "Episodes like this are intolerable and must not be repeated.

Also via social media, the Iranian news agency Fars reported that 'the transit of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been interrupted following Israeli attacks on Lebanon'.