Israel kills 16 in airstrikes in central Beirut

Sixteen people were killed when Israeli forces struck the center of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

At least 16 people were killed and 63 injured in an airstrike targeting residential buildings in the Basta region of central Beirut early on Sunday, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

"Israel's air force fired five missiles from Almamun Street in the Basta region, completely destroying an eight-story residential building," local media said.

Israeli forces also struck a house in eastern Lebanon, killing eight people, including four children, and injuring nine others, local media reported.

At least 3,645 people have been killed in the armed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October last year, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have also led to casualties in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

According to Gaza's civil defense force, 19 people, including at least six children, were killed and more than 40 injured in Israeli air strikes and tank shelling in various parts of Gaza from midnight to morning on Sunday.

Homes and mosques in Gaza City's Zaytun district in northern Gaza City, in southern Kanyunis, and in central Nuseirat were attacked, while the southern Rafa region was shelled with tanks.

According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Hamas claimed that an Israeli female hostage was killed in an Israeli attack in northern Gaza.

According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 100,000 injured so far.