Israel has stepped up strikes on the city’s southern suburbs in recent days, an area Israeli officials say hosts Hezbollah militants and infrastructure.

An Israeli airstrike on Friday flattened an entire building in a dense neighborhood in the Tayouneh area, a few kilometers from the center of the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Fresh Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs late Friday following a heavy bombardment in the morning. A dpa reporter said there were at least three explosions and that black smoke rose over the Ghobeiry area.