Israeli Airstrikes Flatten Buildings In Beirut Lebanon

JAKARTA - Israeli airstrikes leveled buildings near one of the busiest traffic intersections in Beirut, Lebanon. Israel continues to carry out intensive bombings of the city area controlled by Hezbollah.

The attack took place near the Tayouneh intersection in an area where the southern suburbs controlled by Hezbollah met with other parts of the city on Friday, November 15.

Israel this week has stepped up airstrikes against Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs an increase that coincides with US-led diplomatic contacts to end the conflict.

The US Ambassador to Lebanon on Thursday handed over a draft ceasefire proposal to Lebanese parliamentary chairman Nabih Berri, backed by Hezbollah to negotiate, two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters without providing details.

The draft is Washington's first written proposal to stop fighting between its Iran-backed Israeli allies and Hezbollah in at least weeks, the source said.

"This is a design for observation from the Lebanese side," one source told Reuters.

When asked about the proposal, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Beirut said efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement were underway.

A senior diplomat, speaking without wanting to be named, considered that it would take more time to resolve the ceasefire and hoped a ceasefire could be reached.

The diplomacy marks the US administration's final attempt to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, as efforts to end the war in Gaza appear futile.

Iran's senior official Ali Larijani, adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, met with Berri and Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut on Friday, Lebanese and Iranian media reported.

Ahead of the latest airstrikes, the Israeli military issued warnings on social media identifying buildings on the southern outskirts and asked residents to evacuate, saying the building was near the Hezbollah facility.