Flames and smoke rise from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, as Rafik Hariri International airport is seen in the background, in Beirut on Friday.

At least nine people were killed and 14 wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, targeting a building near the parliament; Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people, including children, in the occupied West Bank.

Beirut has been rocked by huge explosions with a Lebanese government source claiming at least one Israeli strike had come close to the city’s airport.

Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, who is widely regarded as the heir of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, was a target of the blasts, Axios reported, citing sources.

Civilians were fleeing the series of massive blasts in Beirut’s southern suburbs last night, with state media reporting there were more than 10 consecutive airstrikes.

Witnesses said they saw smoke near Beirut’s international airport while a source in Lebanon’s transport ministry said an Israeli strike had come down outside the perimeter this morning.

Earlier at least nine people were killed and 14 wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, targeting a building near the parliament.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people, including children, in the occupied West Bank in one of the deadliest attacks in two decades, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Russian airbase in Syria hit

Suspected Israeli rockets struck near a Russian airbase in Syria, which is believed to house weapons for Iran, according to a report.

About 30 missiles were fired at a target near Khmeimim air base overnight, triggering a series of huge explosions, The Telegraph reported.

The strikes were launched an hour after an Iranian Qassem Fars Airlines cargo plane allegedly delivered weapons at the base, according to the report.

Purported video from the strikes showed streaks of bright orange lighting up the night sky as air defences attempted to intercept the missile.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Telegraph that Russian and Syrian air defences attempted to intercept missiles for at least 40 minutes in Latakia but failed.

The Independent