Air strikes hit Beirut as Israel rules out ceasefire

Explosions in southern Beirut followed an Israeli military warning posted on social media. (AP PHOTO)

The Israeli military has carried out at least five air strikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut after Israel's defence minister ruled out any ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel's goals had been met.

Smoke rose over Beirut as blasts shook the capital mid-morning on Tuesday.

The explosions followed an Israeli military warning posted on social media identifying 12 sites in the southern suburbs and saying it would take action against them soon.

It warned residents they were located near Hezbollah facilities.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the latest strikes.

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, Beirut
There'll be no ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel achieves its goals, Israel's defence minister says.

Residents have largely fled the southern suburbs since Israel began bombing the area in September.

In Israel, air raid sirens sounded in parts of the north, sending residents running for shelter, and the military said a number of "suspicious aerial targets" were launched from Lebanon.

There were no reports of injuries.

Ignited by the Gaza war, the conflict at the Lebanese-Israeli border had been rumbling on for a year before Israel went on the offensive in September, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with air strikes and sending troops into the south.

Israel has dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah in the past seven weeks, killing many of its top leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, flattening parts of Beirut's southern suburbs, and causing vast destruction in border villages in south Lebanon.

Meeting Israel's general staff for the first time, Israel's newly appointed Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel achieved its goals.

"Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel's right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meet the goals of the war in Lebanon - disarming Hezbollah and its withdrawal beyond the Litani River and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had said earlier on Monday there had been "a certain progress" in ceasefire talks, while adding the war against Hezbollah was not yet over.

The main challenge facing any ceasefire deal would be enforcement, he said.

A building that was destroyed by an Israeli strike in Dahiyeh, Beirut
Israel's offensive has driven more than a million people from their homes in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has said it is ready for a long war against Israel and has kept up rocket fire.

The Lebanese government, which includes Hezbollah, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire based on the full implementation of a UN Resolution that ended a war between the group and Israel in 2006.

The resolution calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of all weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of violating the resolution.

Israel's offensive has driven more than one million people from their homes in Lebanon in the past seven weeks.

Since hostilities erupted a year ago, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 3243 people and injured 14,134, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah attacks have killed roughly 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon in the past year.

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