Ground Report: Ops Normal At Israel's Haifa Port Amid Iran Attack Rumours

Social media has been flooded with claims that Haifa Port in Israel run by the Adani Group has come under missile attack from Iran or Hezbollah.

NDTV visited the facility and found the opposite: ships docking, cargo moving, cranes working, and operations running without interruption.

NDTV is the first Indian news network to reach Haifa Port since the US-Iran war began. The port, located on Israel's northern Mediterranean coast, sits within striking distance of the Israel-Lebanon border, where NDTV reported the previous day amid heavy Israel Defence Force (IDF) activity.

The two locations are connected by rail from Tel Aviv, and the contrast on arrival is stark. The port hums with the ordinary machinery of commerce.

Haifa Port handles everything from cars to wheat, most of them cargo essential to the daily life of ordinary Israelis. While rockets struck parts of Haifa city overnight, there was no damage to port infrastructure. No attack has taken place here.

Captain Sumit Chauhan, president of Haifa Port, confirmed as much on camera. "The operations, as you can see and hear all around you, are continuing as normal," he told NDTV.

Chauhan called the port "the anchor of the IMAC in the Mediterranean," referring to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. The facility had adapted its operating procedures and safety protocols as the war progressed, but had not broken operational continuity, Chauhan said.

He added the safety of port workers remained the overriding priority. "It wouldn't have been possible without their resilience."

#NDTVExclusive | Operations remain normal at Israel's Haifa Port, no attack or damage.@adityarajkaul reports from ground zero amid social media rumours about attack and devastation at Haifa pic.twitter.com/LLpuQsSbpQ

— NDTV (@ndtv) March 12, 2026

Chauhan called Haifa Port "a very important part of the India-Israel strategic partnership" and "the most strategically important port in Israel", which handles the most diversified range of cargo among Israeli ports.

Earlier today, the Israeli military said it had begun a wave of strikes across Beirut, after it warned residents of a central neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital it would target a building there.

"The IDF has begun a wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure across Beirut," a military statement said.

The counterattack came after Hezbollah announced a new operation against Israel on Wednesday.

Visuals showed dark smoke rising into the sky above Bashoura, in the heart of Beirut. Bashoura is generally a busy part of town, adjacent to Beirut's commercial centre, where many large companies and government institutions are based.

The Israeli military said the attack saw the Iran-backed Hezbollah launch some 200 rockets and 20 drones in its biggest barrage since the start of the war.