15 dead after Israeli airstrike destroys residential building in central Beirut, Lebanese officials say
Israeli airstrikes on Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 15 people, officials said, as rare strikes in the Lebanese capital continued without warning from Israel, and as diplomats tried to broker a ceasefire.
The Ministry of Health in Lebanon said 63 people were injured in the strikes, the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.
This escalation comes after US Ambassador Amos Hochstein visited the region in pursuit of an agreement to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah which has been in conflict for many months.
Israeli bombings have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The war has displaced an estimated 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and about 50 civilians were killed in bombings in northern Israel and fighting.
The 8-story building was reduced to rubble
The 4 am strikes destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut. Hezbollah lawmaker Amin Shiri said there were no Hezbollah officials inside. Some facades were removed from nearby buildings, and residents watched from among crumpled cars.
“This area is a residential area, with buildings crowded around small roads, which makes the situation difficult,” said Walid Al-Hashash, a first responder for the Lebanese Civil Defense.
The Israeli military did not comment on the accidents.
Also on Saturday, an airstrike killed two people and wounded three in the southern port city of Tyre, according to the National News Agency.
Mohammed Bikai, spokesman for the Fatah Palestinian group in the Tire region, said that those killed were Palestinian refugees who were leaving the nearby al-Rashidieh camp to go fishing.
Although the Israeli military warned last month to avoid the south coast of Lebanon, “you can’t tell someone who needs food that you can’t fish,” Bikai said.
The Ministry of Health said other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five in the southern village of Roumin and five in the northeastern village of Budai.
Ceasefire negotiations
Two Western officials on Saturday explained the points of contention between Israel and Lebanon in the ceasefire talks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the interviews.
The current proposal calls for a two-month ceasefire in which Israeli forces will withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah will end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River. Thousands of Lebanese soldiers will patrol the border area with UN troops, and an international committee will monitor the operation.
The officials said Israel wants more assurances that Hezbollah weapons are being removed from the border area. Israeli officials said they would not agree to a deal that did not expressly give them freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believed Hezbollah was violating it.
Lebanese officials said the inclusion of the name would violate Lebanon’s sovereignty, and Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week the militant group would not accept a deal that did not include “a complete and total end to violence.”
Lebanon and Israel are also arguing over which countries will sit on the monitoring committee. The officials said Israel refused to allow France, which has been close to Lebanon since the end of colonial rule. Lebanon refuses to have Britain, Israel’s closest ally.
Deadly strikes in Gaza and people trapped in rubble
In northern Gaza, the Ministry of Health said at least 80 people died between Thursday and Friday, including at Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. A large number of people were trapped under the rubble.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of the strike near Kamal Adwan and did not comment on other attacks.
Many Palestinians fear that Donald Trump’s election victory makes an Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement even more unlikely. Trump, who defended Israel aggressively during his first term, has already said that Israel should be allowed to ‘finish the job.’
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 full of dust, smoke and fire,” said another grieving father, Ahmad Ghassan. “We found him dead and his brother injured.” One father was crying carrying his child’s body on a bloody sheet.
The Palestinian death toll from the 13-month war passed 44,000 this week, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its toll. It said more than half of the dead were women and children. The Israeli army claims to have killed more than 17,000 soldiers, without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led forces invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 250 others, according to Israeli officials. About 100 hostages remain inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has devastated vast areas, and nearly 90 percent of the 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 for bread in the center of Deir al-Balah, relatives and witnesses told the AP. It was not clear who shot them and why.
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