Israeli airstrikes Saturday killed at least 20 people and injured dozens in central Beirut as diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the death toll in the country’s capital could rise as emergency responders dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, it said, adding that 66 people were wounded.
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The pre-dawn strikes, which destroyed an eight-story building and left a crater in the ground, were the fourth in Beirut in less than a week. Hezbollah legislator Amin Shiri said no Hezbollah officials were inside. The attack stripped the facades from some nearby buildings and 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.
The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region this week in an attempt to broker a cease-fire deal to end the more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hochstein said on Tuesday that he held “very constructive talks” with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah who is mediating on the group’s behalf.
“Specifically today, we have continued to significantly narrow the gaps,” the envoy told reporters after the two-hour meeting. “It’s ultimately the decisions of the parties to reach a conclusion to this conflict. … It is now within our grasp.”
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz to discuss ongoing operations and reaffirm the United States’ “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
In a statement, the Pentagon said Austin also reiterated the U.S. commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that “allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border.”
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 would be 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 militant group would not agree to a deal that doesn’t entail a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression.”
Israeli bombardment has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon and wounded more than 15,000, according to the Lebanese 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 rockets, drones and missiles in northern Israel and in fighting in Lebanon.
Israel’s military did not issue a warning for residents prior to the strikes in central Beirut and did not comment on the casualties. It warned residents Saturday in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were residing near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 meters (yards) away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centers and weapons storage facilities.
