At least 15 killed in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut as diplomats seek ceasefire

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Israeli airstrikes on Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 15 people, officials said, as a rare attack on the Lebanese capital continued without warning as diplomats tried to put an end to it.

The Ministry of Health in Lebanon said 63 people were injured in the strikes, which were 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 months-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has erupted into heavy fighting.

The Israeli attack has 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 eight-story building is 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. The attack stripped the facades of some nearby buildings and 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, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in Lebanon's southern port city of Tire, according to Lebanon's state-run 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 city of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern region of Budai.

Sticking to points in negotiations to end the war

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 during which Israeli forces will withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah will end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. Thousands of Lebanese soldiers will patrol the border with UN troops, and an international committee will monitor the implementation of the agreement.

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 their country's sovereignty. And Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week the militant group will not accept a deal that does 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, in total, were killed on 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 respond to questions about 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 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 Ministry of Health, 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 terrorists led by Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting another 250. About 100 Gaza hostages, at least a third are believed to have died.

Israel's offensive on Gaza has devastated vast areas, and nearly 90 percent 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 for bread in the center of Deir al-Balah, relatives and witnesses told the AP. It was not clear who shot them and why.

Reactions are ongoing to ICC warrants

The situation in Gaza prompted this week's decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant based on “reasonable grounds” for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court also issued a warrant for senior Hamas official Mohammed Deif, although Israel says he killed him.

Netanyahu criticized this mandate. The global reaction has been mixed.

The UK reiterated its support for the court but stopped short of saying whether it would arrest Netanyahu if he visited. Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court and has not commented. The US also does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court and has rejected its decision.

Nomi Bar-Yaacov, who works with him in the International Security Program at Chatham House in London, said that even if Netanyahu cannot go to many European countries because of the risk of arrest, he will go to the United States. .

“That will strengthen his relationship with Donald Trump,” she said.

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Correspondents Fadi Tawil in Tire, Lebanon, Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem, Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Mohammad Jahjouh in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.