Thousands faced race against time in ‘hell’ trying to escape Beirut before ceasefire
Scenes of chaos engulfed Beirut as Israel unleashed its largest bombing campaign in recent memory, hours before a ceasefire with Hezbollah was set to take effect.
Missiles were unleashed on Lebanon’s capital of 2.4 million residents just moments after US president Joe Biden confirmed the deal ‘designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities’.
Up until 4am local time this morning, when the ceasefire came into effect,jets were pounding the capital – a sign that Israel was aiming to inflict as much terror as possible.
During the night, Israel’s military issued evacuation warnings for more than 20 locations in Beirut, including in the city centre, which had been largely spared during the war.
People in the Laylaki and Choueifat al-Amrousieh areas were ordered to evacuate, with Israel claiming the sites were close to Hezbollah facilities.
This marked the second alert within an hour, with a similar warning issued earlier to residents of Borj El Brajneh and Ghobeiry in the southern suburbs.
Beirut was in a frenzy – Israeli jets roaring over residential buildings, traffic at a standstill and non-stop ambulance sirens blasting.
Streams of cars were seen clogging roads as thousands of people tried to escape the city.
Some were seen abandoning their vehicles and trying to exit Beirut on foot, while others headed for shelters.
The American University Hospital opened its doors for students and their families, while others hid in the car park outside.
While missiles were unleashed on central Beirut, at least ten simultaneous Israeli strikes also pounded the southern suburbs – the largest simultaneous attack on them so far in the war.
One strike also slammed near the country’s only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky.
What is the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah?
The agreement calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon.
Fighters will be replaced by Lebanese army forces in that area, who will ensure that infrastructure or weaponry is removed and that it cannot be rebuilt, according to a senior US official.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers would gradually return to their side of the border.
The actual implementation of what has been signed off remains a major question mark.
The agreement largely tracks UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
‘Apocalyptic scenes all over Beirut on the coldest night of the year. Stench of burning, sirens blaring, standstill traffic, drones, panic everywhere,’ said Yasmine Khayyat, an associate professor in Lebanon.
She later added in a post on X: ‘The night is dark and full of terrors.’
Outside of Beirut, strikes slammed into the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military said its ground soldiers clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, just a few miles from the border.
At 4am local time, celebratory gunfire pierced the sky as the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.
The airstrike may have fallen silent, but alongside the joy, many were left devastated as they found their homes had been destroyed in overnight strikes.
According to authorities, at least 42 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon in the last 24 hours.
Mona Fawaz, professor at the American University of Beirut, wrote: ‘The smell of sulfur is still in the air but the drone is gone.
‘Relief is mixed with a heavy weight on everyone’s chest, trying to understand what just happened, think of what is coming.’
Earlier today, the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, Nabih Berri, said the war with Israel had been the ‘most dangerous phase’ his country had endured in its history.
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