Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.

Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including 20 who died after a strike flattened a multi-story residential building in central Beirut overnight, according to Lebanese officials.

The strikes at 4 a.m. destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut and left a crater in the ground. Also on Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern port city of Tyre, according to the state-run National News Agency.