Dozens wounded, at least 22 killed in airstrikes in Beirut as tensions escalate in Israel conflict with Iran

An air raid on Beirut left at least 22 people dead and dozens of others wounded after Israeli airstrikes pummeled neighborhoods in Lebanon, according to the Associated Press.

The latest attack, the deadliest one in over a year of war between the embattled countries, further escalated the conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Lebanon's health ministry told the AP that the air strikes targeted two residential buildings in separate neighborhoods at the same time, demolishing the eight-story building and taking out the lower floors of the other.

The Israeli military told the AP it was investigating the reported strikes. Israeli airstrikes have become more prevalent in Beirut’s tightly packed southern suburbs, where Hezbollah bases a large portion of its operations.

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The attack came the same day as Israeli forces fired on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and wounded two of them, the AP reported. 

Hezbollah has expanded its rocket fire to more populated areas deeper inside Israel, causing few casualties but interrupting daily life for people in the country. 

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The attacks across Israel come as the Jewish nation finds itself embroiled in multiple conflicts with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden spoke on Wednesday to discuss Israel’s anticipated retaliatory attack against Iran following its massive missile strike on Israel last week, reported Israeli news outlets. 

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The Biden administration has grown increasingly frustrated with Israel over its withholding of security details and had previously urged it not to launch an incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah over concerns it could prompt a broader regional war. 

The White House has urged Israel not to hit Iranian nuclear or oil facilities and to keep its retaliation "proportionate," though the administration has not specified what this type of attack would look like. 

Roughly 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalated last month. More than 400,000 people have fled Lebanon into Syria, and roughly 1,400 people have been killed based on numbers provided by the Lebanese Health Ministry and the number of combatants believed to have been killed by Israel. Some 70,000 Israelis have been forced out of the country's northern communities since the start of the conflict.