Lebanon says Israeli strike on Beirut hotel kills four

Lebanon's health ministry said Sunday that an Israeli strike on a hotel in central Beirut killed at least four people, with Israel saying it had targeted commanders from Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Early Sunday, the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli air strike hit Beirut's city centre, targeting "a hotel room," killing four people and wounding 10 others.

In southern Lebanon, the official National News Agency said at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes overnight.

The Israeli military earlier announced it had "begun an additional wave of strikes in Beirut," saying it was targeting the capital's southern suburbs.

A statement issued later said Israeli forces carried out a "precise strike" in Beirut, targeting "key commanders" in the Quds Force, the Guards' foreign operations arm.

The statement, which did not specify the exact location, accused the unidentified commanders of planning "terror attacks against the State of Israel and its civilians."

Israel "will continue to precisely eliminate the commanders of the Iranian terror regime wherever they operate," it said.

An AFP photographer at the bombarded seafront hotel saw one room on the fourth floor with shattered glass and charred walls, while security forces cordoned off the site.

The hotel's area of Raouche is a major tourist destination and has remained untouched by Israeli strikes during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire in November 2024.

Dozens of panicked guests were fleeing the hotel with their luggage, the photographer said.

Two witnesses said they had heard a loud bang before ambulances rushed to the scene.

AFP