Beirut was thrown into panic overnight after an Israeli airstrike slammed into a waterfront H๏τel in the capital, sending terrified residents racing into smoke‑filled streets as cries and sirens echoed across the city, Lebanese officials say.

The blast hit just after 1:10 a.m. local time, when a precision‑guided munition tore through the upper floors of a mid‑rise H๏τel on the edge of the city centre, collapsing several storeys and igniting a fierce fire that spread down stairwells and across neighbouring balconies. Shattered glᴀss and concrete rained onto the avenue below, crushing parked cars and injuring pᴀssers‑by.

Local residents describe scenes of chaos as families fled barefoot into the night, some still in pyjamas, clutching children and phone torches while screams from trapped guests and staff echoed from the wreckage. Videos posted online show people forming human chains to pull the injured from the lobby as thick black smoke coils from gaping holes in the façade.

The IDF says the H๏τel was a “front” used by IRGC and Hezbollah operatives as a command, courier and planning hub, insisting the strike was based on “high‑grade intelligence” and calling it a legitimate military target. Lebanese authorities counter that any such presence does not justify what they label an indiscriminate attack in the heart of a civilian district, reporting dozens of casualties and warning the toll will rise as rescuers dig through rubble at first light.

For Beirutis already living under the shadow of war, the image of a bombed H๏τel in a busy quarter is a grim reminder: in this conflict, nowhere in the city feels truly safe anymore.