BEIRUT

One person was killed and three were injured in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut on Sunday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

The strike targeted a building in the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood of the capital, marking the second such attack on the area since last October.

A ministry statement said efforts were underway to search for survivors under the rubble.

The Israeli army staged at least five airstrikes on Ras al-Nabaa and the nearby Basta neighborhood in the Lebanese capital early Sunday.

Writing on X after the attack, Ali Hijazi, secretary-general of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Lebanon, mourned Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammad Afif.

There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese group.

Israel launched an air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are targets of the Hezbollah group in late September, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare over Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

More than 3,400 people have been killed, over 14,600 injured, and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli attacks since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region is on the brink of a regional war, Tel Aviv on Oct. 1 expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi and Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​