Strikes hit south Beirut following calls by the Israeli military to evacuate the area on Tuesday, as Israel prepares to decide whether to accept a proposed ceasefire in its war with the Lebanese group.
AFPTV footage showed multiple plumes of smoke rising above Beirut's southern suburbs.
Israeli officials voiced optimism about prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country's ambassador to Washington, earlier in the day told Israeli Army Radio that several points had yet to be finalized. Though any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah were “close to a deal."
“It can happen within days,” he said.
Israeli officials have said the sides are close to an agreement that would include withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and a pullback of Hezbollah fighters from the Israeli border. But several sticking points remain.
Two Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Netanyahu’s security Cabinet had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, but they said it remained unclear whether the Cabinet would vote to approve the deal. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations.
Danny Danon, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, told reporters that he expected a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah to have stages and to be discussed by leaders Monday or Tuesday. Still, he warned, “it’s not going to happen overnight.”
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted that there could be last-minute hitches that either delay or destroy an agreement.
"Nothing is done until everything is done," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.