BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 15 people, officials said, as the once-rare strikes in the heart of Lebanon’s capital continued without Israeli warning, and as diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 63 people were wounded in the strikes, the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.
The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region in pursuit of a cease-fire deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.
Israeli bombardment has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and the fighting.
Eight-story building turned to rubble
The 4 a.m. strikes destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut. Hezbollah legislator Amin Shiri said no Hezbollah officials were inside. Some facades were stripped from nearby buildings, and residents watched among 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.
Also Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern 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 in the southern village of Roumin and five in the northeastern village of Budai.
Sticking points in cease-fire talks
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.
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 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 Lebanon’s sovereignty, and Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week the militant group would not agree to a deal that does 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.
Deadly strikes in Gaza and people trapped in rubble
In northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed between Thursday and Friday, including near Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. It said dozens of people were trapped under the rubble.
Israel’s army said it wasn’t aware of a strike near Kamal Adwan and didn’t respond 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 does not 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% of the population of 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.
Reactions continue to ICC warrants
Conditions 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” that they bear responsibility for a war crime and crimes against humanity. The court also issued a warrant for top Hamas official Mohammed Deif, who Israel claims it killed.
Netanyahu condemned the warrant. Global reactions have been mixed.
The U.K. reiterated its support for the court but stopped short of saying whether it would arrest Netanyahu if he visits. Russia doesn’t recognize the court’s jurisdiction and hasn’t commented. The U.S. also doesn’t recognize the court’s jurisdiction and has rejected its decision.
Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an associate fellow in the International Security Program at London’s Chatham House think tank, said that even if Netanyahu won’t be able to travel to many European countries because of risk of arrest, he’ll go to the United States.
“That will only strengthen his ties to Donald Trump,” she said.
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Associated Press writers Fadi Tawil in Tyre, 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.
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Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Abby Sewell And Bassem Mroue, The Associated Press