An Israeli airstrike killed five people in central Beirut on Monday, Lebanon's health ministry said, the second day in a row Israel has hit a target within the capital as it presses its campaign against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

United States envoy Amos Hochstein is due to visit the Lebanese capital Beirut “imminently” after Lebanon responded “positively” to a US-backed proposal to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday.

Efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified, with a US envoy expected to return to Lebanon for talks over a possible deal, amid an escalation of Israel’s air attacks across the country.