At least 18 people, including four children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike near Lebanonβs largest public hospital in southΒern Beirut, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Another 60 people were injured when at least three buildings about 50m (160ft) from Rafik Hariri University hospital were destroyed in the Jnah neighbourhood on MonΒday night.
The health ministry said the attack β one of at least 13 reported across the capital β caused βsignificant damageβ to the hospital.
The Israeli military said it hit a βHezbollah terrorist targetβ near the hospital, without giving details, and insisted that the hospital was not targeted or its operation affected.
It also accused Hezbollah of systematically embedding its assets among the civilian popuΒlation β an allegation the armed group has previously denied.
The military had warned people to move away from several locations in southern Beirut about 15 minutes before the strike, but the area around hospital was not among them.
A BBC producer who was close to the hospital at the time said a loud bang sent people running for cover. Paramedics and firefighters found locals in distress at the scene.
On Tuesday morning, rescuΒers searched the piles of broken concrete and twisted metal, some carrying shovels, others only with their bare hands, at the site of the strike.
The location hit was an impoverished and densely populated neighbourhood. At least three multi-storey buildings collapsed and several others were heavily damaged.
One of the rescuers said they did not know how many people could be under the rubble.
βBBC
