Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon since September, vowing to severely weaken Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets and drones at Israel since it launched its air and ground assault on Gaza over a year ago.

Israel staged a new bombing raid on central Beirut Monday, killing five people according to the health ministry, as firefighters said a rocket launched from Lebanon killed one woman in Israel. The Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza said at least 20 people were killed there in an operation against the looting of aid trucks in the stricken territory.