The death toll from intense airstrikes carried out by Israeli jets early on Saturday in the Basta neighborhood of Beirut rose to 16 by noon. A significant amount of human remains have also been found, reports Arab News.
More victims could soon be discovered under the rubble of an eight-story building that was occupied at the time of the attack.
Residents were asleep and had not been given prior warning to evacuate, according to a civil defense source.
Four bunker buster missiles hit the building in the densely populated Al-Ma'moun Street.
It resulted in the complete or partial destruction of adjacent structures, while the targeted building was reduced to rubble, leaving a deep crater.
More than 70 civilians sustained various injuries, overwhelming local hospitals that issued urgent calls for blood donations.
The death toll in the war has reached 3,700, with 15,500 wounded. The number of child fatalities now exceeds 240 and more than 700 women have been killed.
END/SZA
