LOOK: Aftermath of Israeli strikes in Beirut's Zuqaq al-Blat district

Israeli airstrikes hit central Beirut, killing at least 10 and destroying buildings in Zuqaq al-Blat as the conflict with Hezbollah intensifies.

Reuters

18 March 2026 at 11:12:35

LOOK: Aftermath of Israeli strikes in Beirut's Zuqaq al-Blat district

A man uses a phone while standing amidst debris at the site of an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Zuqaq al-Blat district in central Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026.

Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Workers cleared the rubble on Wednesday (March 18), from Beirut's Zuqaq al-Blat district, following Israeli strikes.

A person walks past debris at the site of an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Zuqaq al-Blat district in central Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

A man uses a phone while standing amidst debris at the site of an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Zuqaq al-Blat district in central Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

A boy sits on a wall near debris at the site of an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Zuqaq al-Blat district in central Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Israel stepped up airstrikes in central Beirut on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and destroying a 10-story building, Lebanese authorities said, in attacks that shook the capital in the third week of Israel's war with Hezbollah.

Central Beirut was hit by four airstrikes over an eight-hour period, targeting buildings in a cluster of neighborhoods within walking distance of the city's downtown and the headquarters of the Lebanese government.

The Israeli military statement said it had "struck assets" of a Hezbollah-run financial institution, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, in Beirut, and that the Israeli Navy had targeted Hezbollah militants in the city. It did not give specific locations.

A strike at around 1:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) destroyed several floors of an apartment block in the Zuqaq al-Blat district.

Another strike, around 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT), tore through a floor of a second building in Zuqaq al-Blat, some 50 meters from the site of the earlier strike.

Production: Raghed Waked, Hamuda Hassan/Reuters