Israeli strikes in central Beirut kill at least 15 as diplomats push for a cease-fire

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 15 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon’s capital continued while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 63 people were wounded in the strikes, which were 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 deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, 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.

The 4 a.m. strikes destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut. Hezbollah legislator Amin Shiri said no Hezbollah officials were inside. Israel’s military did not comment on the casualties.

Also Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.

The Health Ministry said other airstrikes killed eight people in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern village of Budai.

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 the deal’s 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 their country’s sovereignty. And Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week that the terrorist 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.

Rabbi missing in UAE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in the United Arab Emirates has gone missing, with Israeli authorities raising the suspicion Saturday he may have been kidnapped as tensions remain high with Iran.

Israeli media citing unnamed security sources reported that Zvi Kogan, who has been missing since Thursday, may have been kidnapped. The Israeli prime minister's office on Saturday acknowledged Kogan's disappearance, without elaborating.

His disappearance comes as Iran has been threatening to retaliate against Israel after it struck sensitive military bases in the country in October.

The Associated Press