By contributor By Kareem Chehayeb, Associated Press
Israeli jets struck a residential building in central Beirut on Tuesday and issued new evacuation orders for 20 buildings in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs.
The strike flattened the building in the city’s crowded Basta neighbourhood, the second attack on the area in recent days.
There were no immediate report of casualties.
It was not immediately clear if anyone in particular was targeted, though Israel says its air strikes target Hezbollah officials and assets.
In a signal of more strikes to come, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the southern Beirut suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where the United Nations peacekeeping mission, known as Unifil, is based.
The Beirut strike came hours before Israel’s Security Cabinet was due to meet to vote on a US-brokered ceasefire deal aimed at ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group.
