Israeli military strikes Hezbollah targets in Beirut

The Israeli military launched air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital since sharply escalating its campaign against the Hezbollah group last month.

Large fireballs lit the darkened skyline and booms reverberated across Beirut.

The Israeli military said fighter jets struck targets in Beirut belonging to Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters and weapons storage facilities. It said strikes also targeted Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa area.

The Israeli bombardment came on the eve of the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered a war that has sparked protests worldwide and risks igniting a far wider war in the Middle East.

A residential building and road junction were damaged in Israel's Haifa  after several rockets crossed the border from Lebanon.

Israeli media reported 10 people were injured in the attack on Israel's third largest city.

Hezbollah said it targeted a military base south of Haifa with a salvo of "Fadi 1" missiles.

Meanwhile Dozens of protesters chanted and held up placards featuring photographs of the hostages, with others depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers, captioned "The Cabinet of Death".

The families of many hostages have often accused Netanyahu of sacrificing their loved ones by insisting on the continuation of military operations in Gaza, and are now voicing similar concern over Israel's military escalation with Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Netanyahu has insisted that maintaining pressure on Hamas is the best way to return the 101 hostages believed to be remaining in Gaza.

Hamas-led fighters took around 250 foreign and Israeli hostages when they burst into Israel on October 7 and killed 1,200 others, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.