Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 15 people, officials said, as the once-rare strikes in the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without Israeli warning, and as diplomats scrambled to broker a ceasefire.

A powerful airstrike killed 11 people in central Beirut on Saturday, the health ministry said, shaking the capital as Israel pressed its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Israel's strike on a multi-storey residential building in central Beirut's Basta district has killed at least 11 people, with the number expected to rise.