Lebanon’s health ministry says at least 22 people have been killed and 117 wounded in Israeli airstrikes that hit two areas in central Beirut

The strikes followed a year of tit-for-tat exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel that boiled over into all-out war in recent weeks.

Israeli airstrikes hit different areas of central Beirut on Thursday evening, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens, Lebanon’s health ministry said. The attack came the same day as Israeli forces fired on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and wounded two of them.

The attacks appear to be the largest in central Beirut since Israel intensified its offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The United States, Israel's closest ally, on Tuesday said it opposed the scope of the country's air strikes in Beirut over the past few weeks amid a rising death toll and fears of wider escalation involving Iran.

The Israeli military launched strikes in southern Beirut on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it would leave Hezbollah forces near h

The Israeli military on Wednesday launched strikes in southern Beirut after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it would leave Hezbollah forces near his country’s border.