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Iran Launches Missile and Drone Attacks Across Middle East; Israel Responds with Heavy Airstrikes on Beirut
Iran Sustains Missile Attacks Across Gulf and Middle East
Iran continues its large-scale missile and drone attacks across the Gulf and broader Middle East, targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Jordan. Notably, several projectiles were intercepted over Dubai, UAE, leading to the city's airspace being closed for two consecutive days. Al Jazeera's Malik Traina, reporting from Doha, stated that air raid sirens were also triggered in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Gulf nations have strongly condemned Iran's aggression, urging de-escalation and calling for a return to negotiations. These attacks mark the 18th-19th day of conflict, with regional states demanding an end to Iran's aggression and a resumption of dialogue.
Israel Conducts Retaliatory Airstrikes on Beirut
Israel carried out heavy overnight airstrikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The barrage struck three locations in Beirut, with Israel stating its targets were Hezbollah and its rocket-launching infrastructure. In southern Lebanon, a building near a civil defense center in the city of Nabatiyeh was hit, and a forced evacuation order was issued for the city of Tyre. Al Jazeera's Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, suggested that these appeared to be targeted assassination strikes aimed at specific apartments in residential buildings, raising concerns about civilian casualties. As Israel's ground offensive expands, thousands of residents, including 50,000 people from Tyre and those in Palestinian refugee camps, are evacuating, but even these areas are not guaranteed to be safe from further attacks.
*Source: YouTube: Al Jazeera English (2026-03-18)*
