At least 12 people were killed Wednesday when Israel intensified airstrikes on central Beirut, destroying a 10-story building, Lebanese authorities said, as the conflict with Hezbollah entered its third week.
Strikes rattled Beirut through the night and into the morning, lighting up the sky over the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, which Israel has heavily bombarded since Iran-backed Hezbollah entered the war in the Middle East in support of Tehran.
Late Tuesday, Hezbollah said it had launched "large salvos of rockets," as well as drones and artillery fire, into Israel, one of its heaviest barrages of the war. Lebanese security sources said the initial launch included nearly 100 rockets.
The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday that it had completed an overnight wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, after the group launched dozens of projectiles at Israel Tuesday.
Central Beirut was hit by four airstrikes over an eight-hour period, targeting buildings in a cluster of neighborhoods within walking distance of the city's downtown and the headquarters of the Lebanese government.
