Israel Pounds Tehran and Beirut With Broad Airstrikes

Multiple sources describe a sharp escalation.

“DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Intense Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon early Friday as the U”

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Israel said it had launched a new "broad-scale wave" of attacks targeting regime infrastructure in Tehran.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Iran "launched strikes" in response, and violence also intensified along Israel's northern border and in Beirut, according to reporting that cites both Tehran-focused strikes and clashes in Lebanon.

Israel’s army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, is quoted saying Israeli forces inflicted heavy damage on Iranian capabilities, claiming they had "destroyed about 80% of Iran’s air defenses and at least 60% of its missile-launching capability".

Airstrikes were reported on heavily populated areas in Beirut.

Mondoweiss

Reporting from Beirut emphasizes a severe civilian toll and widespread displacement.

“DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Explosions sent up clouds of dark smoke in the Iranian capital city early Saturday, and Tehran retaliated by firing missiles at Israel as the United States warned of a forthcoming bombing campaign that officials said would be the most intense yet in the weeklong conflict”

WPLG Local 10

The Lebanese Health Ministry figures cited in dispatches put deaths at “at least 217 people” and wounded 798.

Reports describe streets clogged with evacuees, hospitals forced to evacuate patients and staff, and residents “sleeping in cars or outdoors.”

Several accounts note outstanding questions and ongoing investigations.

U.S. officials were reported to be looking into an explosion.

WRVO Public Media

Some dispatches and snippets of these articles are incomplete or cut off, limiting available detail on the U.S. role and other developments.