At least 22 people were killed and 117 others injured in a series of airstrikes in Beirut on Thursday, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The latest assaults target the city’s densely populated suburbs, a stronghold of the Hezbollah movement, marking a significant escalation in ongoing hostilities.

The Israeli military has maintained a relentless aerial campaign in southern Beirut for over two weeks, although strikes have largely avoided the city center until now. "The Israeli enemy's attacks on the capital Beirut this evening killed at least 22 people and injured 117 others," the ministry reported.

Local news sources, including Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), detailed the extent of the destruction, noting that the strikes primarily hit the neighborhoods of Nweiri and Basta. The initial strike targeted the third floor of an eight-story building in Nweiri, while a subsequent attack brought down a four-story structure in al-Basta al-Fouqa.

Eyewitness accounts reported extensive damage, with an AFP photographer on the scene witnessing two buildings collapse and windows blown out in surrounding areas.

Civil defense teams and local residents worked tirelessly to rescue individuals trapped under rubble, with some victims being evacuated on stretchers.

Firefighters battled blazes in the Nweiri area, using ladders to evacuate residents from upper floors of a residential building.

The aftermath of the strikes saw plumes of smoke rising ominously between closely packed buildings, as emergency crews rushed to respond.

This surge in violence follows a deadly air raid earlier this month, when an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-run emergency services facility in Beirut resulted in the deaths of seven workers.