The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on downtown Beirut on Thursday rose to 22, according to the country's health ministry.
Also, 117 people were injured, according to the ministry.
One of the attacks hit the lower part of an eight-story apartment building in the Ras al-Naba area, according to reports.
The second attack, in the Burj Abi Haidar area, completely demolished a building that was engulfed in flames.
The Israeli army, which in recent weeks has frequently carried out attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut, while attacking central Beirut has so far made no public announcement.
The Israeli army confirmed that its troops opened fire near the base of the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hezbollah fighters were operating within and near civilian areas in southern Lebanon, including areas near UNIFIL posts.
The IDF also stated that it "operates in southern Lebanon and maintains regular communication with Unifil."
The US is deeply concerned by reports that Israeli forces fired on UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon and is pressuring Israel to provide details about those incidents, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said in Washington.
"We understand that Israel is conducting targeted operations near the Blue Line to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure that could be used to threaten Israeli citizens. While conducting these operations, it is critical that they do not jeopardize the safety and security of UN peacekeepers," the spokesman said.
UnNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said two of its peacekeepers were injured in an incident when an Israeli tank fired on an observation post at the force's headquarters in Ras al-Nakura, hitting the tower and causing them to fall. There were no casualties in two other incidents, a UN source said.
Citing a source from Hezbollah, al-Majadin television channel, linked to that militant group, stated that the assassination attempt on Wafik Safa had failed.
Israeli media earlier reported that the target of airstrikes in central Beirut tonight was Safa, one of Hezbollah's top political officials and the head of its liaison and coordination unit, who oversaw the group's foreign relations and was involved in maintaining its security.
The latest data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health state that 18 people were killed and 92 wounded in two Israeli attacks.
Rescue operations are still ongoing, the Lebanese Ministry announced
Lebanon's Health Ministry said at least 11 people were killed and 48 others wounded in two Israeli strikes on central Beirut on Thursday night.
Emergency rescue operations are still being carried out at the sites of the airstrikes. One bystander told the Guardian that families were leaving the site carrying mattresses and bags, while some were bleeding from the ears from the force of the blasts.
About an hour after the airstrikes, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders to residents of Dahiya, a southern suburb of Beirut, warning that it would carry out airstrikes on pre-determined buildings it claimed were Hezbollah weapons depots.
Israeli media reports that the target of airstrikes in central Beirut tonight was Wafik Safa, one of Hezbollah's top political officials and the head of their liaison and coordination unit.
Safa oversaw the group's foreign relations, and in March he went on a trip to the United Arab Emirates, which was seen at the time as a potential thaw in relations between the group and the Gulf. He was also involved in maintaining the group's security and is known to have responded with threats to the request of a judge investigating the causes of the Beirut port explosion, after she asked for the questioning of officials linked to Hezbollah, the Guardian reports.
Ambulance sirens blared as they rushed to the scene of the airstrikes in central Beirut as reports of casualties began to emerge. Al Makassed Hospital, also in central Beirut, reportedly received more dead and wounded.
Photographs of the site of one of the airstrikes showed a collapsed residential building, similar to the scenes of the airstrikes in Dahiye, a southern suburb of Lebanon.
Residents were not given a warning to evacuate the building, as Israel had previously issued before its nightly bombings of Dahiya.
Israel has "recommended" that the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, be moved to the north, the country's ambassador to the UN, Dani Danon, said, according to Reuters.
"Our recommendation is for UNIFIL to move five kilometers north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies and the situation along the Blue Line remains unstable as a result of Hezbollah aggression," Danon said.
He added that Israel "has no desire to be in Lebanon, but will do what is necessary" to separate Hezbollah from its northern border, so that the 70.000 residents can return to their homes in northern Israel.
At least two major airstrikes hit central Beirut this evening, which has not been attacked before.
The area in question is dominated by the working class, which has hosted a large number of displaced people since September 23, the Guardian reports.
The explosions were heard across Beirut, shaking window panes at least two kilometers away, and it was unclear what was targeted.
So far, Israel has mostly limited its attacks to Dahiya, a southern suburb of the city that is one of Hezbollah's strongholds.
The Minister of Health of Lebanon said that 28 people died and 113 were injured in the past 24 hours in that country.
That brings the total to 2.169 dead and 10.212 injured during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began last October, according to a statement from the ministry, reports AP.
The report also noted 61 airstrikes in the past 24 hours, mostly concentrated in southern Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley - all areas where Hezbollah has the most support.
France said it was waiting for an explanation from Israel after UN peacekeeping forces were hit in Lebanon on Thursday, stressing the obligation to ensure their safety, Reuters reports.
"France expresses its deep concern over the bullets fired by Israel that hit the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and condemns any attack on the security of UNIFIL," the foreign ministry said, adding that none of its 700 troops in the mission were injured. .
"We are waiting for explanations from the Israeli authorities. The protection of peacekeepers is an obligation that applies to all parties to the conflict," it added.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni summoned Israel's ambassador to Rome after she described the behavior of Israeli forces, who allegedly opened fire on bases guarded by Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, as "unacceptable".
The BBC reports that the two wounded UN peacekeepers were Indonesian, according to a UN spokesman.
Indonesia contributes more troops than any other country to UNIFIL, providing more than 1.200 troops, media reports say. The Indonesian and Israeli governments have yet to comment on the incident.
The EU's high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, condemned the shelling of UN peacekeepers by Israeli forces in Lebanon, adding that there is no justification for such an "unacceptable" act.
In a post on Platform X on Thursday, he said the EU "reiterates its full support" for the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL.
Israeli security services foiled a planned bomb attack on Tel Aviv's Azrieli mall, believed to have been planned by an ISIS-linked group, it said on Thursday.
In a joint statement, Israeli police and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) said five residents of the town of Tayiba, north of Tel Aviv and near the West Bank, had been planning the attack for weeks.
A month-long undercover investigation led to the arrest of two cell leaders, both of whom are linked to ISIS, police and the ISA said in a statement.
The Israeli police said that the suspects planned to travel to ISIS-controlled combat zones abroad, establish contacts with operatives from other countries, and that they had already recruited three more Israeli residents.
In addition, Israeli police said that during the investigation, authorities discovered that the suspects watched videos of bombings in Syria and discussed the amount of explosive material needed to destroy the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv.
Police added that they intervened and arrested the group before their plans could be realized.
A video shared by Israeli police of the arrest operation shows soldiers storming a house and arresting three people. At the end of the video, you can see a photo of an Uzi machine gun in a plastic bag.
ISIS has not yet claimed responsibility for this plan.
Israel's security cabinet is poised to vote on a response to an Iranian missile attack, a source told CNN.
Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, saying the attack was in retaliation for the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel promised revenge.
A man died after being wounded in a knife attack in the northern Israeli town of Hadera on Wednesday, health officials in Israel said.
"Unfortunately, despite the extensive efforts of the medical staff, the death of a patient who was in critical condition has been confirmed. Our condolences go out to the family," a spokesman for the Hillel Jaffe Medical Center told CNN.
The man was one of five people targeted during a "terrorist attack" in the Haifa district on Wednesday, Israeli police said, adding that the suspect was "neutralized by an armed citizen" at the scene.
According to Israeli media, the man was 35 years old and the father of six children. At least two more victims, aged 50 and 70, remained in serious condition, according to the Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom.
Efforts to reach a cease-fire in Lebanon intensified in the past few hours, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati's office said, adding that contacts between the United States and France were ongoing with the aim of reviving a ceasefire proposal between Hezbollah and Israel.
US President Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron proposed a 21-day ceasefire during the UN General Assembly last month. Three days after the proposal, Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and launched intense attacks on the group, ending the talks.
Netanyahu publicly rejected a ceasefire before the assassination. Prospects for a truce further worsened after Iran, which backs Hezbollah, fired a barrage of rockets at Israel last week.
"There are contacts between the United States and France ... with the aim of reviving the ceasefire declaration for a certain period, in order to continue the search for political solutions," Mikati's office said on Platform X, citing the prime minister.
Middle East Gulf states are pressing Washington to stop a planned Israeli attack on Iranian oil facilities because they are concerned that their own oil facilities could be attacked by Iran's allies if the conflict escalates, three Gulf sources told Reuters.
As part of their attempts to avoid becoming embroiled in the conflict, the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, also refuse to allow Israel to fly over their airspace for any attack on Iran, and have conveyed this to Washington, she told Reuters. three sources close to government circles.
Israel has vowed to make Iran pay for last week's missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliatory strike would be accompanied by massive destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the region that could involve the US.
During meetings this week, Iran warned Saudi Arabia that it could not guarantee the security of the kingdom's oil facilities if Israel was given any help in carrying out an attack, a senior Iranian official and an Iranian diplomat told Reuters.
A UN investigation announced on Thursday that it had found that Israel carried out a systematic policy of destroying the Gaza health system during the Gaza war, which is considered a war crime and a crime against humanity, i.e. by extermination, reports Reuters.
In a statement released by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, which was released before the full report, Israel was accused of "sustained and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities" during the war.
"Children especially felt the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly due to the collapse of the health system," said Pilaj, whose report will be presented to the UN General Assembly on October 30.
Israel claims that Gaza militants are operating from populated areas, including private homes, schools and hospitals, and will attack them wherever they appear, while trying to avoid harming civilians. Hamas denies hiding militants, weapons and command centers among civilians.
According to Reuters, the UN investigation also accuses Israeli forces of deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, targeting medical vehicles and restricting patients' permission to leave the Gaza Strip.
Israeli troops opened fire on three positions under the control of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Thursday, a UN source confirmed to Reuters, without being able to specify what kind of fire.
Reuters reports that a source said one of the sites attacked was UNIFIL's main base in Nakura.
Reuters further states that the Israeli army is continuing an offensive launched six days ago in the north of the country, when troops were sent to Jabalia, the largest of the eight historic refugee camps, and the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.
Palestinian health officials say at least 130 people have been killed so far in the operation, which Israel is carrying out to prevent gatherings of Hamas members. The army has ordered residents to evacuate the area where, according to UN estimates, more than 400.000 people are trapped.
Health officials said the Israeli military gave patients and medical staff 24 hours on Wednesday to leave Indonesia, Al-Avda and Kamal Advan hospitals or risk being attacked, as happened earlier at Gaza's Al Shifa hospital.
The director of the hospital, Kamal Advan, said that eight patients, mostly children, will be in danger of their lives in intensive care units, if the Israeli army forces them to evacuate.
Israeli bombing near the Kamal Advan Hospital has already caused damage to the facility, medics said.
UN peacekeepers and nearby positions in southern Lebanon have been repeatedly attacked in recent escalations along the Blue Line, UNIFIL said on Thursday, Reuters reports.
UNIFIL added that two peacekeepers were injured by Israeli tank fire.
The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) said it responded to 27 deaths and 54 injuries after an Israeli attack on a school that served as a shelter in Deir al-Balah.
Israel's military said an airstrike on a former school in Gaza that was sheltering displaced people on Thursday targeted militants operating in the compound, according to Reuters.
"Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to reduce the risk to civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence," the military said.
Palestinian medical officials previously said the attack killed at least 21 people, with the number of casualties likely to rise.
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