Lebanon accuses Israel of rejecting truce after Beirut strikes

Lebanon's prime minister accused Israel on Friday of rejecting a ceasefire after the Israeli military bombed Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold for the first time this week.

In Gaza, where Israel has been engaged in a major offensive in the north for nearly a month, a Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group had rejected a proposal for a short-term truce.

United Nations chiefs called the situation in northern Gaza "apocalyptic" and warned that the entire population there was at risk of death.

Israel has been fighting a two-front war since late September, against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas, which triggered the Gaza war by attacking Israel on Oct. 7 last year.

At least 10 strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs before dawn after Israel issued evacuation warnings.

"The raids left massive destruction in the targeted areas, as dozens of buildings were leveled," Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Lebanon's health ministry later said 52 people were killed and 72 wounded in Israeli strikes on Friday in the country's eastern Baalbek-Hermel region, attacks for which the Israeli army had not issued evacuation warnings.

The NNA also reported strikes on Bint Jbeil, Tyre, and Nabatieh in the south.

The Israeli military said it was continuing operations against both Hezbollah and Hamas.

Beirut suburbs hit 

The strikes on Lebanon came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met U.S. officials to discuss a possible deal to end the war against Hezbollah, ahead of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the Israeli attacks.

He said the renewed bombing of Beirut's southern suburbs...