Israeli airstrike levels apartment building in central Beirut

Associated Press Jerusalem: An apparent Israeli airstrike on central Beirut has levelled an apartment building. It came after Israel hit targets across Lebanon and killed dozens of people as Hezbollah sustained heavy blows to its command structure, including the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The early Monday airstrike the first to hit central Beirut in nearly a year of conflict hit a multistory residential building, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene. Videos showed ambulances and a crowd gathered near the building in a mainly Sunni district with a busy thoroughfare lined with shops.

Separately, an Israeli airstrike early Monday killed a family of four in central Gaza, Palestinian officials said. In the past week, Israel has frequently targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence including a major strike on Friday that killed Nasrallah but had not hit locations near the city centre. The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 105 people were killed around the country in airstrikes on Sunday. Two strikes near the southern city of Sidon, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Beirut, killed at least 32 people, the ministry said.

Separately, Israeli strikes in the northern province of Baalbek Hermel killed 21 people and wounded at least 47.Lebanese media reported dozens of strikes in the central, eastern and western Bekaa and in the south, besides strikes on Beirut. Israel says it targets militants, but the strikes have hit buildings where civilians were living and the death toll was expected to rise.

Israeli airstrike kills 6 people in Gaza: Meanwhile, Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli airstrike killed six people, including two sisters and a child, in central Gaza. The strike early Monday hit a family home in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda hospital, where the casualties were taken. The dead include a man, his two daughters and a grandchild, according to the hospital records.

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli strike hit a house in the central town of Deir al-Balah, killing two children and their parents. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian casualties on Hamas because the militant group operates in residential areas. The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children. Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 41,615 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. It does not distinguish between militants and civilians.

Hezbollah's deputy leader vows to fight: Hezbollah's deputy leader vowed to continue fighting Israel and said the militant group was prepared for a long war after much of its top command was wiped out, including its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. In his first speech since Nasrallah was killed, Naim Kassem said in a televised statement on Monday that if Israel decides to launch a ground offensive, Hezbollah fighters are ready to fight and defend Lebanon.