Israeli airstrikes on Beirut have killed at least 15 people and left 63 injured – while Palestinian refugees were said to have been killed in a drone strike on southern Lebanon.
In the fourth attack in less than a week, an eight-story building was blown to rubble in the 4am strike and emergency services have warned the death count could still rise as they continue to search for survivors.
The attacks have pounded the city without warning as diplomats continue to scramble to broker a ceasefire between the warring nations.
On the same day a drone strike is claimed to have killed two refugees, who were out on a fishing trip from a nearby refugee camp by the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of the country’s population.
On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and the fighting.
The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.
Firefighters battle the flames after a building was hit in an Israeli airstrike in the Hadath neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut
A photo taken from the southern Lebanese city of Tyre shows smoke as it rises from site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the nearby village of Samaaiyeh
Civil defense members and rescuers work at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood
People search for their belongings inside a damaged building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood
Hezbollah legislator Amin Shiri said no Hezbollah officials were inside the eight-story building. The attack stripped the facades from some nearby buildings and crumpled cars.
‘The area is residential, with closely packed buildings and narrow streets, making the situation challenging,’ said Walid Al-Hashash, a first responder with the Lebanese Civil Defense.
Israel’s military did not comment on the casualties.
On the same day, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area, said those killed were Palestinian refugees from nearby al-Rashidieh camp who were out fishing.
Despite a warning last month by Israel’s army to avoid Lebanon’s southern coast, ‘you can’t tell someone who needs to eat that you can’t fish,’ Bikai said.
The Health Ministry said other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern village of Budai.
Two Western diplomatic officials on Saturday described disputed points between Israel and Lebanon in cease-fire negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.
A firefighter extinguishes a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut
Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut
Heavy smoke rises during an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs
Lebanese civil defense teams and soldiers conduct search and rescue operations among the rubbles of a collapsed eight story building
The current proposal calls for a two-month cease-fire 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 more Lebanese army troops would patrol the border area with U.N. peacekeepers, and an international committee would monitor the deal’s implementation.
The officials said Israel wanted more guarantees that Hezbollah’s weapons are removed from the border area.
Israeli officials have said they would not agree to a deal that did not explicitly grant them freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believe Hezbollah is violating it.
Lebanese officials have said the inclusion of such a term would violate their country’s sovereignty. And Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week that the militant group would not agree to a deal that doen’ts not entail a ‘complete and comprehensive end to the aggression.’
Lebanon and Israel also dispute which countries would sit on the monitoring committee.
The officials said Israel refused to allow France, which has been close with Lebanon since its colonial rule there ended. Lebanon refused to have Britain, a close ally of Israel.
In northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed on Thursday and Friday, including near the Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. It said dozens of people were trapped under the rubble.
A civil defense member walks among the debris at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood
A Lebanese army soldier stands guard near damaged vehicles at the site of an Israeli strike
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut
Lebanese civil defense teams and soldiers conduct search and rescue operations among the rubbles of a collapsed eight story building
Israel’s army said it wasn’t aware of a strike near Kamal Adwan, but didn’t respond to questions about the other attacks.
On Saturday, at least six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Associated Press reporters and staff at Nasser Hospital.
‘Suddenly we woke up to dust, smoke and a fire,’ said one grieving father, Ahmad Ghassan. ‘We found him dead and his brother injured.’
Another father wept as he carried his child’s body in a bloodstained sheet.
The Palestinian death toll from the 13-month-long war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
It has said more than half the dead are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has devastated wide areas, and around 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands live in tent camps with little food, water or basic services.
At least two women were shot dead Saturday while waiting in line for bread in central Deir al-Balah, relatives and witnesses told the AP. It was unclear who shot them and why.
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