The strikes, which destroyed an eight-story building and left a crater in the ground, were the fourth in Beirut in less than a week.

Israel was targeting a senior Hezbollah commander, but failed to kill him, one Israeli official said. Hezbollah officials said none of the group’s leaders were at the attack site.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 20 people in central Beirut on Saturday, Lebanon's health ministry said, one of the deadliest strikes on the heart of the capital since Israel began its assault against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in September.