Israeli strikes kill at least 20 people in Beirut [Video]

BEIRUT, Lebanon –

Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon’s capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a ceasefire.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 66 people were wounded in the strikes, which were the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.

The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein travelled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and the fighting.

An eight-story building is turned to rubble

The 4 a.m. strikes destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut. …