Lebanon says Israeli strikes on cars kill 12

Israel intensified strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday, with the health ministry reporting 12 people killed in attacks targeting cars, mostly south of Beirut, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The fresh raids, which also targeted various areas of the country's south, came on the eve of a new round of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, brokered by the United States, as Hezbollah remains strongly opposed to the move.

Lebanon's health ministry said three strikes on cars along or near the coastal highway around 20 to 30 kilometres (12-19 miles) from the capital Beirut, "resulted in eight martyrs, including two children."

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said two strikes hit cars on the busy highway linking Beirut to the country's south, while a third struck nearby.

An AFP photographer saw a burnt-out car and rescuers carrying a body at one of the sites, near Jiyeh.

A fourth strike hit a car in Sidon, southern Lebanon's largest city, around 40 kilometres south of Beirut, with the health ministry reporting one dead there.

The ministry also said Israeli strikes on another three cars in south Lebanon's Tyre district killed three more people.

AFP