The escalation comes after a U.S. envoy traveled to the region to pursue a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The strikes, which destroyed an eight-story building and left a crater in the ground, were the fourth in Beirut in less than a week.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 20 people in central Beirut on Saturday, Lebanon's health ministry said, one of the deadliest strikes on the heart of the capital since Israel began its assault against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in September.