At least 20 people were killed in a powerful Israeli strike that flattened a multi-storey building in densely populated central Beirut, Lebanese officials said on Saturday, as more deaths were reported from Israeli attacks in eastern Lebanon.

Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including 20 who died after a strike flattened a multi-story residential building in central Beirut overnight, according to Lebanese officials.

BEIRUT - A massive Israeli airstrike that hit a residential building in a central district of Beirut early Saturday killed at least 20 people, thundered across the city and underlined fears in Lebanon that the war is escalating, days after diplomatic talks aimed at a cease-fire stirred hope of the conflict’s end.