Israel hits Beirut again, ceasefire terms in focus

A senior Lebanese official has signalled Hezbollah is ready to pull its forces away from the Lebanese-Israeli border in any ceasefire, while rejecting Israel's demand for freedom to act against the Iran-backed group in Lebanon in the future.

An Israeli minister indicated that a ceasefire was closer than at any point since the war began, though he said a sticking point was ensuring Israel retains freedom to act inside Lebanon should any deal be violated.

Pressing its offensive against the Iran-backed group, Israel launched airstrikes on Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs on Thursday, keeping up its unusually intensive bombardment of the area for a third consecutive day.

Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows since launching its offensive in late September, escalating the conflict that had rumbled on in parallel to the Gaza war for a year. Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel and its fighters have been battling Israeli troops on the ground in the south.

A World Bank report estimated the cost of physical damage and economic losses due to the conflict in Lebanon at $US8.5 billion ($A13.2 billion) - a massive price for a country still suffering the effects of a financial collapse five years ago.

Senior Lebanese official Ali Hassan Khalil, speaking to Al Jazeera late on Wednesday, said Lebanon was ready to "precisely" implement UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Its terms require Hezbollah to remove fighters and weapons from areas between the border and the Litani River, which runs about 30 km (around 20 miles) from Lebanon's southern border.

Asked whether Hezbollah had informed him of a readiness to withdraw to the Litani, Khalil - a close Hezbollah ally and top aide to Lebanon's parliament speaker - said the group had expressed its commitment to Resolution 1701.

The resolution, he added, "contained a clear set of provisions". "Yes, the party is committed to what is stated in these texts," he said, referring to Hezbollah.

The United States and other powers say a ceasefire must be based on Resolution 1701.

Israel long complained it was never implemented, pointing to Hezbollah weapons and fighters at the border. Lebanon in turn accused Israel of violating the resolution, with Israeli warplanes regularly violating its airspace.

Eli Cohen, Israel's energy minister and a member of its security cabinet, told Reuters: "I think we are at a point that we are closer to an arrangement than we have been since the start of the war".

A key sticking point for Israel, he said, is ensuring it retains freedom of action should Hezbollah return to border areas.

"We will be less forgiving than in the past over attempts to create strongholds in territory near Israel. That's how we will be, and so that is certainly how we will act," he said.

Plumes of smoke rose over the southern Beirut suburbs known as Dahiyeh, where Israel's latest strikes destroyed five buildings, sources familiar with the damage said. Israeli raids on the area have largely been taking place at night but this week have been happening in the morning too.

According to Lebanon's health ministry, Israeli attacks have killed at least 3365 people and wounded 14,344 across Lebanon since October 7, 2023.

Meanwhile, fifteen people have been killed in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Damascus, Syrian state media is reporting, and Israel said the attacks targeted military sites and the headquarters of the Islamic Jihad group.

The buildings targeted were located in the suburbs of Mazzeh and Qudsaya, both in the west of the Syrian capital, SANA news agency reported on Thursday, citing a Syrian military source.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since last year's October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.