Israeli strikes kill at least 30 in Lebanon

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli air strikes on the east and south of the country have killed at least 30 people.

At least 16 were killed in the east, where Hezbollah holds sway, among them eight in Shmestar, the ministry said.

And in the south, another Hezbollah stronghold, at least 14 were killed, including five in the coastal city of Tyre, it added.

A powerful airstrike killed 15 people in central Beirut, the health ministry said, shaking the capital as Israel pressed its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Five people died in an attack on the village of Bodai in the Baalbek district, the ministry said.

In Beirut, an eight-storey building was struck with four missiles, including bunker-penetrating types designed to hit underground targets, said a Lebanese security source.

Israel has used bunker-busting weapons to kill senior Hezbollah figures, including its veteran leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on southern Beirut in September.

At the site of the Israeli strike in central Beirut, Amin Chirri, a member of parliament representing Hezbollah, said there had been no Hezbollah leader in the building that was struck.

The Israeli military made no immediate comment.

The latest blasts shook the capital at around 4am (2am Irish time) and left a deep crater.

Beirut smelled strongly of explosives for hours afterwards.

Rescuers searched through rubble, in an area of the city known for its antique shops.

It was the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, in contrast to the bulk of Israel's attacks on the capital region, which have hit the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah media official in the Ras al-Nabaa district of central Beirut.

The Israeli air force also struck Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the group's stronghold, the Israeli military said.

In a statement on actions, it did not mention the strike on central Beirut.

Read more about the conflict in the Middle East

A man whose family was hurt in the strike in central Beirut tried to comfort a traumatized woman outside a hospital. Car windows were shattered.

"There was dust and wrecked houses, people running and screaming, they were running, my wife is in hospital, my daughter is in hospital, my aunt is in the hospital," said the man, Nemir Zakariya, who held up a picture of his daughter.

"This is the little one, and my son also got hurt - this is my daughter, she is in the American University (of Beirut Medical Centre), this is what happened."

Separately, at least five people were killed and two wounded in an Israeli strike on Roum village in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese state news agency.

Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, following nearly a year of cross-border hostilities ignited by the Gaza war, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.

Hezbollah denies it is using human shields

Israeli strikes killed at least 62 people and injured 111 in Lebanon on Thursday, bringing the toll since October 2023 to 3,645 dead and 15,355 injured, Lebanon's health ministry said.

The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government accuse Israel of indiscriminate bombing that kills civilians.

Israel denies the allegation and says it takes numerous steps to avoid the deaths of civilians and it accuses Hezbollah of using human shields.

Hezbollah denies the accusation.

Hezbollah strikes in the same period have killed more than 100 people in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

They include more than 70 soldiers killed in strikes in northern Israel and the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israel.

The conflict began when Hezbollah, Tehran's most important ally in the region, opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas after it launched the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel.

A US mediator travelled to Lebanon and Israel this week in an effort to secure a ceasefire.

The envoy, Amos Hochstein, indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.