Close to 400 dead as Israeli strikes continue in Lebanon

Israel has struck southern Lebanon and Beirut again on Sunday (March 8, 2026) and killed 12 more people, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, with the death toll rising to 394 as the war in West Asia keeps escalating.

Also read: Israel-Iran war updates on March 8, 2026

Israeli officials said the strikes targeted commanders of the Lebanese branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” for the next phase of the conflict.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it would “not allow Iranian terrorist elements to establish themselves in Lebanese territory.”

The latest strikes in Lebanon followed an Israeli attack Saturday (March 7, 2026) on an oil storage facility in Tehran, which sent up pillars of fire that could be seen in Associated Press video as a glow against the night sky.

Iranians evacuated

Meanwhile, more than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official said.

“A total of 117 Iranians, including diplomats and embassy staff, were evacuated on a Russian plane that left Beirut overnight from Saturday to Sunday,” the official said.

The evacuation comes after Lebanon had banned any activity by the Guards, a main backer of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said on Sunday (March 8, 2026) that two of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, marking the first fatalities among its troops since Israel-Hezbollah hostilities resumed last week.

Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said that 83 children and 82 women are among the 394 killed so far in the conflict.

(With inputs from AFP, Reuters)