Israeli airstrikes kill scores in Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes hit south Beirut early Thursday, including areas near Lebanon's international airport, footage captured by the AFP news agency showed. AFP journalists also reported loud explosions in Beirut.

The strikes came about an hour after the Israeli army urged residents of Hezbollah strongholds to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed 40 people near Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, and also hit Beirut's southern suburbs.

The strikes on eastern Lebanon also left 53 people injured.

Two waves of bombing followed, one late Wednesday and another early Thursday.

According to a Lebanese local official, an airstrike landed close to Baalbek's UNESCO-listed Roman ruins, a heritage site with some of the largest and best-preserved Roman temples outside of Rome.

In the town of Barja in central Lebanon, rescuers pulled 30 bodies out of the rubble after a late-night Israeli strike on an apartment building, authorities said on Wednesday.

Officials said some of the neighbors have reported there are still people missing.

This escalation follows over a year of clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which intensified in September with Israeli bombardments and incursions in southern Lebanon.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Lebanon as the conflict continues.

Human rights organizations have criticized how Israel and Hezbollah have given civilians evacuation orders during the Lebanon conflict, saying they are not effective. 'Window' to end Gaza, Lebanon wars after Trump win says French FM

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that now was an opportune time for a potential end to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon following the election of Donald Trump as US president.

"I believe a window has opened for putting an end to the tragedy in which Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region have been immersed since October 7" last year, Barrot told reporters in Jerusalem.

Barrot was speaking alongside outgoing Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and referenced Trump’s "wish to see the end of the Middle East's endless wars."

Barrot said he was hopeful that a diplomatic solution would present itself "in the coming weeks."

"It is time to move towards a deal that would allow for the liberation of all hostages, a cease-fire and the mass entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to prepare for the day after," Barrot said.

He is expected to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas.