A powerful airstrike killed 11 people in central Beirut on Saturday, the health ministry said, shaking the capital as Israel pressed its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

A powerful Israeli air strike flattened a residential building in central Beirut early Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 63 others, according to witnesses and the Health Ministry's initial count.

Lebanese officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 15 people and injured dozens in central Beirut as the once-rare strikes in the heart of Lebanon’s capital continue without Israeli warning.