At least 11 killed in Beirut's Basta as Israel intensifies attacks despite peace talks

Israel's latest attack on centre of Lebanese capital comes amid renewed US effort for ceasefire with Hezbollah

Emergency workers and volunteers search for victims at the site of an Israeli air strike in central Beirut, Lebanon. AP

The Israeli air strikes destroyed and eight-storey building and damaged others in central Beirut's Basta district. AP

Rescuers sift through the rubble of a levelled building in Basta. AFP

A man looks on as rescuers sift through the rubble of a levelled building in Basta. AFP

Rescuers search for survivors and victims' bodies. AP

Elderly people near the site of the Israeli strike in Basta. Reuters

People leave the area of the attack in Basta. Reuters

The search for survivors and victims' bodies continues. AP

Residents flee Basta with few belongings. Reuters

Ambulances at the site of the strike. Reuters

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Powerful explosions rocked central Beirut in the early hours of Saturday as five Israeli air strikes hit an eight-storey building in the densely populated Basta neighbourhood. At least 11 people were killed and 63 injured, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The air strikes at around 4am marked the fourth Israeli attack on central Beirut this week as US-brokered negotiations to stop its war with Hezbollah reached a critical stage. Ground fighting has also intensified long the border in southern Lebanon, which Israel invaded in late September as part of an escalation against Lebanese armed group.

Israel used bunker-buster bombs in the attack on Saturday, which left a large crater, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. One building was destroyed and several others nearby were damaged, it said.

Images and video circulating online showed rescuers rushing to the site amid smoke and the sound of ambulance sirens. In one video, a man reportedly filming from his balcony next to the strike site says his relatives' home was completely destroyed. “There was five buildings there, full of people, they’re all gone,” he says.

The smell of burning explosives lingered in the capital hours after the attack.

The target of the strike remains unclear. Israel and Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

The last reported Israeli air strike on Basta, which hit just dozens of metres away from the latest attack, was on October 10, in which 22 people were killed. It was aimed at Hezbollah’s liaison and co-ordination unit chief, Wafiq Safa, who reportedly survived.

Hours after the latest strike, Israel bombed the Hadath and Chouaifet El Aamroussieh neighbourhoods in southern Beirut, less than 10km south of Basta, after issuing eviction orders to residents.

Israel has bombed southern Beirut heavily since it launched an all-out offensive against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in late September, but attacks on central Beirut have been relatively rare until the past week. The strike in Basta follows an air strike in Ras Al Nabaa last Sunday, which killed Hezbollah media chief Mohammad Afif and two other people. A busy shopping street in the Mar Elias district was struck hours later, killing three people, while the Zuqaq Al Blat district, near the Lebanese parliament and prime ministerial office, was on Monday night.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to push forward a ceasefire proposal drafted by Washington. He extended his visit by a day amid signs of progress in the negotiations, before travelling to Israel on Thursday. Instead of returning to Lebanon after his meetings with Israeli officials, Mr Hochstein went straight back to the US, indicating that there had been a deadlock over the terms.

In a televised speech delivered on Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group was prepared for a "war of attrition" if negotiations failed, threatening attacks on central Tel Aviv.

A key sticking point in the US-drafted deal is a provision giving Israel the right to strike in Lebanon in “self defence” even after the truce takes effect, sources familiar with the negotiations told The National.

"The Israeli side expects to achieve through the agreement what it could not secure in war, and this is not possible," Mr Qassem said in his speech.