Explosions heard north of Beirut, causing panic

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Explosions rocked several areas north of Beirut that have so far been spared in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war, according to residents and local media, with a military official saying the blasts likely came from an intercepted Iranian missile.

Footage broadcast by the local LBCI channel in the coastal town of Sahel Alma showed a building with shattered windows and shrapnel piercing one of its walls, and a crack in a small wall beside it.

A Lebanese military official told AFP they suspected the culprit was “likely interceptor missiles” targeting “an Iranian cluster missile, and the projectiles have spread to several areas”.

He did not specify the missile’s target or who intercepted it, but neighbouring Israel routinely shoots down incoming fire from Iran.

Videos on social media showed smoke rising from several locations.

Local media and residents in at least three areas north of Beirut reported explosions causing panic and confusion, as these regions have thus far remained untouched by the ongoing war between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel.

Israeli strikes have mostly struck Lebanon’s south and east, as well as areas in and around Beirut.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also attributed the explosions to “interceptor missiles”, reporting that one of them fell in the mountainous town of Faitroun.

“A number of citizens sustained minor injuries from flying shrapnel,” it added.