Airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs after Israeli minister rules out a ceasefire

The Israeli military carried out at least five airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, after Israel's defence minister ruled out any ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel's goals had been met.

Smoke rose over Beirut as blasts shook the capital around mid-morning. The explosions followed an Israeli military warning posted on social media identifying 12 sites in the southern suburbs and saying it would take action against them soon. It warned residents they were located near Hezbollah facilities.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the latest strikes. Residents have largely fled the southern suburbs since Israel began bombing the area in September.

In Israel, air raid sirens sounded in parts of the north, sending residents running for shelter, and the military said a number of "suspicious aerial targets" were launched from Lebanon. There were no reports of injuries.

Ignited by the Gaza war, the conflict at the Lebanese-Israeli border had been rumbling on for a year before Israel went on the offensive in September, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.

Israel has dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah over the last seven weeks, killing many of its top leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, flattening parts of Beirut's southern suburbs, and causing vast destruction in border villages in south Lebanon.

Meeting with Israel's general staff for the first time, Israel's newly appointed Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel achieves its goals.

"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."

Hezbollah attacks have killed roughly 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon over the last year.