Israel strikes Lebanon on ‘Black Wednesday’: Targeting Hezbollah or civilians?
Justin Salhani
On April 8, Israel launched more than 100 airstrikes across Lebanon, killing at least 357 people in what is now known as 'Black Wednesday.' Israel says it killed 250 Hezbollah fighters, but researchers and rights groups say evidence points to indiscriminate attacks that targeted civilians, including women and children.
Beirut, Lebanon – On April 8, Ahmad Hamdi, 22, was sitting on his sofa at his home in the Tallet el Khayat neighborhood of Beirut, just hours after Israel launched more than 100 rockets across Lebanon in less than 10 minutes. Ahmad recalled: “I heard an indescribable sound of a rocket.” He jumped off his seat as the glass windows in the building shattered, before more rockets struck. When the dust cleared, Ahmad saw the building across the street had turned into a pile of rubble. Shrapnel pierced the sofa where his chest had been when the first rocket hit.
April 8 has gone down in Lebanese history as “Black Wednesday.” The Israeli airstrikes that day killed at least 357 people nationwide. Israel claimed to have eliminated 250 Hezbollah fighters. However, multiple casualty investigation sources from that day say the attacks appear indiscriminate, possibly even deliberately targeting civilians. UN experts called the action “indiscriminate.”
“The way the attacks happened in the middle of the day, with multiple simultaneous strikes without warning, and civilians present, shows recklessness in Israeli military conduct,” said Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Since March, Israel has escalated its military campaign in Lebanon, following Hezbollah’s retaliation against near-daily Israeli attacks. Israel also invaded southern Lebanon, systematically destroying towns and villages to create an uninhabitable “buffer zone” along the border, according to experts and Israeli officials.
“Part of Israel’s military strategy is to create a buffer zone and a demilitarized zone,” said Bassel Doueik, a Lebanon researcher at ACLED. “What Israel is doing in southern Lebanon is creating a multi-layered buffer zone inside Lebanese territory, so they are destroying homes in border towns.”
According to ACLED, on April 8, Israel carried out 100 airstrikes and dropped more than 160 bombs across Lebanon. Israel said the strikes targeted Hezbollah command centers, command-and-control sites, military formations, and assets of its air force and elite Radwan unit. But investigation groups say available data casts doubt on that claim. ACLED said early indications suggest only a small number of victims were Hezbollah members.
“One hundred and one women and children were killed on April 8,” said Ghida Frangieh, a lawyer and Lebanon researcher at Legal Agenda. “For that figure of 250 to be accurate, every man killed would have to be a Hezbollah fighter. That’s not true because we have documented male civilians killed in these attacks.”
Lebanese media reported on many victims, including restaurant staff, teachers, a poet, journalists, a Lebanese soldier, and a member of a Druze political party. In some cases, Israeli strikes wiped out multiple members of the same family, such as seven from the Nasreddine family in Hermel, and three generations of the displaced Hawi family—including three children—in the Jnah neighborhood adjacent to Beirut.
Researchers argue that even if Hezbollah targets were present at all sites struck on April 8, the attacks would still be considered indiscriminate under international humanitarian law, which places the burden of proof on the attacking military. Reina Wehbi, Lebanon campaigner at Amnesty International, stressed: “Armed forces must distinguish between civilians and military objectives, take all feasible measures to verify targets, and assess proportionality.”
For more than two years, Israel has repeatedly violated the laws of war in Lebanon and Gaza by attacking civilians, targeting medical workers and journalists, and using white phosphorus. Still, experts say Israel is unlikely to face prosecution. “For the Israeli military, there is no deterrence preventing them from committing crimes in Lebanon,” Kaiss said. “No country has suspended arms sales or imposed sanctions.”
The attacks on Beirut paused after a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump on April 16. However, fighting continues in southern Lebanon, where Israel keeps killing civilians, including rescue workers. Lebanon and Israel have begun direct talks, despite Hezbollah’s opposition, hoping to end the attacks and the occupation. “This hasn’t happened for two years, so the Israeli military on the ground feels emboldened to continue,” Kaiss said.
