Lebanon’s health ministry said 66 people were injured in the strikes, the fourth such attacks in central Beirut in less than a week.
At least 20 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, as diplomats struggle to negotiate a ceasefire.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 66 people were injured in the strikes, the fourth such attacks on central Beirut in less than a week.
Early Saturday morning, the strikes destroyed an eight-story building. A Hezbollah lawmaker said no officials from the group were inside at the time.
The attack also tore off the facades of neighboring buildings and crushed cars.
“The area is residential, with buildings crowded together and narrow streets, which makes the situation difficult.“, said Walid Al-Hashash, of the Lebanese civil defense.
“We are working with two excavators and the work is in progress, so I cannot say when it will be finished.” He added.
The Israeli army has not commented on the number of casualties.
This new escalation comes after American envoy Amos Hochstein visited the region to try to reach an agreement ending months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which degenerated into a full-blown war.
Two Western diplomatic officials have outlined the contentious points between Israel and Lebanon in the ceasefire negotiations.
The current proposal calls for a two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border, south of the Litani River.
Thousands of additional Lebanese army troops would patrol the border area with U.N. peacekeeping forces and an international committee would monitor implementation of the deal.
Officials said Israel wanted more guarantees that Hezbollah weapons would be removed from the border area.
Israeli officials have said they would not accept a deal that did not explicitly grant them the freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believed Hezbollah was violating it.
Lebanese officials have said the inclusion of such a term would violate their country’s sovereignty.
Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week that the militant group would not accept a deal that did not involve “a complete and comprehensive end to aggression.”
ADVERTISEMENTLebanon and Israel also do not agree on the choice of countries which will sit on the monitoring committee. Officials said Israel refused to allow France, which has been close to Lebanon since the end of its colonial rule over that country. Lebanon refused the presence of Great Britain, Israel’s close ally.
The Hezbollah militant group is ideologically aligned with Gaza-based Hamas and began firing into Israel the day after the war in the Gaza Strip began in October last year.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire almost daily, displacing tens of thousands of people across the border.
On October 1, the Israeli army launched a ground operation in Lebanon, and 15,000 IDF troops are believed to be in the country.
ADVERTISEMENTIsraeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in the country, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
The fighting has displaced around 1.2 million people, or a quarter of the country’s population.
On the Israeli side, around 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians were killed in bombings in northern Israel and fighting.
