U.S. officials assured Lebanon that Israel would tamp down its strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday. "During our contacts with the American authorities last week,

The strike, in the south of Lebanon, killed at least 16 people, Lebanese officials said. Israel, which also struck near Beirut, said it was targeting Hezbollah militants.

Israel has launched airstrikes on Beirut for the first time in five days, while a city mayor has been been killed during a volley of intense strikes on southern Lebanon – in what the country’s prime minister has condemned as "intentionally” targeting a municipal council meeting.