MEZIESBLOG

Smoke is billowing from an area of Beirut after what appears to be a new Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital tonight.

The city’s southern suburbs have been targeted repeatedly by the Israeli military since a recent eruption in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

An Israeli airstrike late last night in Beirut destroyed several buildings near Lebanon’s largest public hospital, killing at least 18 people and injuring 60 others. Israel said it struck a Hezbollah target and had not been targeting the hospital itself.

Before we go, here’s a recap of the day’s key developments:

• At least 18 people, including four children, were killed and 60 injured in an Israeli airstrike near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Beirut’s main state hospital, overnight. 
• The Israeli military said it had struck a Hezbollah target, without giving more detail, and said it had not been targeting the hospital itself.

• Israel’s military confirmed the killing of top Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, who had been widely expected to be the militant group’s next leader. He was killed in an airstrike in southern Lebanon earlier this month – but his death had not been confirmed until this evening;
• US secretary of state Antony Blinken sat down for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu lasting more than two hours today, as he embarked on his 11th tour of the Middle East in the hopes of reviving ceasefire efforts;
• Mr Blinken told Mr Netanyahu to seize on Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week to bring the conflict to an end, while the Israeli prime minister called for security and political change in Lebanon that would allow displaced Israeli citizens to return to their homes in the north;

• Meanwhile, the IDF said an Israeli deputy commander had been killed in battle in southern Lebanon;
• The FBI said it was investigating the leaking of two highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran.