Several wounded near Tel Aviv as Israel strikes Lebanese capital

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One woman was killed in northern Israel and several wounded near Tel Aviv in rocket fire from Lebanon, the army said on Monday night, in attacks that came as deadly Israeli air strikes killed at least five people in the latest attacks on Beirut.

A 41-year-old woman was killed and at least 10 wounded by a rocket that hit a three-story building in the northern Arab town of Shfaram in the Galilee, according to emergency services. Five others were also wounded by interceptor shrapnel near the major city of Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah said it had launched “attack drones” against “sensitive military points” in Tel Aviv and shot down an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon, where Israel continues a major ground invasion. The group has launched several attacks targeting Tel Aviv and its suburbs, where Israel's military and intelligence headquarters are located.

The launches came as Israel continued intense air strikes on the Lebanese capital, killing at least five people and wounding dozens more in the third wave of attacks in less than 24 hours.

A four-storey building was destroyed in a dawn strike on the Chiyah area, the state-run National News Agency said, reporting a “large number” of wounded and many people trapped under the rubble.

At least 3,516 people have been killed and about 15,000 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since October last year, which escalated into a major bombing campaign and ground invasion over the past months.

Lebanon and Hezbollah appear to have reached agreement on a US plan for a ceasefire with Israel, Reuters reported on Monday, a day before Washington's envoy Amos Hochstein was due to arrive in Beirut.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to shoot down any prospect of a lasting ceasefire on Monday – saying attacks on Lebanon will continue even if an agreement is made.

“We will be forced to ensure our security in the north (of Israel) and to systematically carry out operations against Hezbollah's attacks … even after a ceasefire”, to keep the group from rebuilding, he told the Israeli parliament.

Israel launched all-out war on Lebanon in September, with Mr Netanyahu saying the large-scale attacks were aimed at returning thousands of people displaced from their northern communities by Hezbollah rocket fire.