Beirut Suffers Under Biggest Daytime Airstrikes As Israel Says Time Not Right For Ceasefire

Israeli warplanes are again pounding the Lebanese capital of Beirut, unleashing one of the heaviest daytime attacks yet on Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs.

Israel's defense ministry has thus far ruled out a ceasefire, which has been backed by both the US and Russia, until its military goals are met. It also remains that Hezbollah has continued unrelenting missile fire into Israel's north, and on Tuesday rockets targeted a base near Tel Aviv.

The efforts to strike Tel Aviv briefly resulted in a total halt in air traffic at Ben Gurion international airport. Sirens also sounded throughout central Israel towns and communities. The Shia group backed by Iran said it targeted an "air base south of Tel Aviv… with a salvo of quality missiles."

Israeli media has detailed Tuesday that one of the drones sent by Hezbollah hit a kindergarten in the northern town of Nesher, which shattered windows and scattered debris in a playground area. No children or staff were hurt as they had all moved to a bomb shelter as a precaution.

But elsewhere there were casualties from the dozens of missiles launched from Lebanon, including two Israelis killed when missiles struck a residential building in Nahariya.

The casualties in Lebanon have remained much higher, with at least 44 people killed and 88 wounded in attacks across mainly the south of the country on Monday.

On Tuesday Israeli jets hit the capital hard:

Smoke billowed over Beirut as around a dozen strikes hit the southern suburbs from mid-morning. After posting warnings to civilians on social media, the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah targets in the Dahiyeh area of southern Beirut, including command centers and weapons production sites.

At this point Israeli leaders have touted that the military has destroyed or degraded almost all of Hezbollah's weapons production capabilities.

Most Lebanese civilians are believed to have fled the hard-hit southern suburbs of Beirut. Residential towers continue to be taken out by the Israelis, amid claims that Hezbollah keeps weapons storehouses under them.

According to more of the latest developments via Reuters:

An Israeli strike back across the border killed five people in the Lebanese village of Baalchmay southeast of Beirut, and five more were killed in a strike on the town of Tefahta in the south, Lebanon's health ministry said. Another person was killed in a strike in Hermel in the northeast, it said.

Beirut residents have largely fled the southern suburbs since Israel began bombing it in September. Footage of one strike shared on social media showed two missiles slamming into a building of around 10 stories, demolishing it and sending up clouds of debris.

The last week saw a number of international reports which said 'progress' has been made in reaching a US-backed ceasefire; however, those reports seem to have been premature.

Impact of Hezbollah rocket in Nahariya:

This is especially as Israel's new defense minister Israel Katz explained the following: 

"Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel's right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meet the goals of the war in Lebanon - disarming Hezbollah and its withdrawal beyond the Litani River and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes," he said.

Hezbollah has in turn defended its right to defend Lebanese territory, and fears that ceding ground south of the Litani would give Israeli forces permanent control of Lebanese land. There are more rumors of a ceasefire being 'close' on Tuesday:

BIDEN ADVISER HOCHSTEIN SAYS HE THINKS 'THERE IS A SHOT' TO GET A CEASEFIRE DEAL IN LEBANON SOON -AXIOS

Neither side is in the mood for ceasefire, but civilians on either side continue to bear the brunt of the suffering, and whole swathes of northern Israel and south Lebanon remain evacuated.