By Abdelaziz Boumzar, Emilie Madi and Jana Choukeir BEIRUT, March 11 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike hit an apartment block in central Beirut on Wednesday, Lebanese authorities said, further widening

Lebanon on Sunday said that Israeli overnight airstrikes on its capital, Beirut and places in southern Lebanon killed at least 15 people and wounded another 15. We are now closing the LIVE Blog

Israeli strike hits Hezbollah-aligned media building in Beirut's southern suburbs following an evacuation warning.

Intense bombardments continue to hit the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, as Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah in a wave of attacks that began midnight local time Friday. At least 217 people have been killed and 798 others have been wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon that began early Monday,

Israel's military says it targeted Quds Force operatives after a return to war with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, but Iran says they were diplomats.

Those killed included officials tied to IRGC and Hezbollah financing and intelligence networks.

In a remarkable statement Monday afternoon, Lebanon called for direct talks with Israel on “permanent arrangements for security and stability on our borders,” while accusing the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah of betraying the country.

Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, was the only Lebanese group to keep its weapons at the end of the 1975-90 civil war to fight Israeli troops who occupied the south until withdrawing in 2000.

Thousands fled the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital before Israel unleashed heavy strikes on the militant group overnight. Many say they have nowhere to go.