Israel early Friday dropped a massive bomb on an 11-story building in Beirut, Lebanon, in an area where the militant group Hezbollah holds sway, reports The Washington Post.
The Israeli army said the building contained facilities belonging to Hezbollah, a group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 and armed and financed by Tehran.
There were no reports of casualties as most residents fled the Dahiya area weeks ago when Israel's bombing campaign began.
The New York Times reported Israel's ground invasion seemed to be broadening and that its troops had made their deepest incursion into southern Lebanese territory since the recent offensive began on Oct. 1, a move that comes as Hezbollah considers a response to a fresh cease-fire proposal.
Iran on Friday said it backed any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a cease-fire with Israel, signaling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.
Two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon had presented a draft cease-fire proposal to Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, on Thursday. Berri is endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate and met the senior Iranian official Ali Larijani on Friday.
Asked at a news conference whether he had come to Beirut to undermine the U.S. truce plan, Larijani said: "We are not looking to sabotage anything. We are after a solution to the problems."
More than 3,200 people have been killed in Lebanon during 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah — most of them since mid-September — of whom about 27% were women and children, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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