AdvertisementAdvertisementRescue workers inspect an apartment damaged in an Israeli airstrike as thick smoke fills the building in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)16 Mar 2026 05:46AM Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInAdd CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.Read a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST BEIRUT: UN peacekeepers said they were fired upon "likely by non-state armed groups" in south Lebanon on Sunday (Mar 15), while a Hamas source said an Israeli strike killed an official from the Palestinian militant group.Israel said no direct talks were planned with Lebanon to end the latest war with militant group Hezbollah, which has been raging for two weeks. The statement came a day after a Lebanese official said Beirut was preparing a delegation to negotiate with Israel.Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on Mar 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes, with Israel launching air raids on the neighbouring country and troop incursions into border areas.UN chief says 'diplomatic avenues' available to stop war in LebanonLebanese authorities said the death toll in Israeli attacks rose to 850, while more than 830,000 people have been registered as displaced, including some 130,000 staying in collective shelters.Driving rain on Sunday piled more misery on displaced people, hundreds of whom have been sleeping rough or in tents near central Beirut's seafront.Coffee shop owner Nader, 42, displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs, said he had rebuilt his home after the previous Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2024 and feared it had again been destroyed."Here we have nothing, and the situation is very bad with the heavy rains and wind - it's very cold, lots of babies are sick, and we can't protect them," he told AFP.Hezbollah says ready for long battle as Israel threatens Lebanese infrastructure"NO" TALKSThe United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said its peacekeepers were fired upon three times on Sunday, "likely by non-state armed groups" in the country's south, two days after a different position was hit by fire that Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) had blamed on Israel.The NNA reported Israeli strikes on the country's south and east on Sunday, while Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on sites in Israel and on Israeli troops in south Lebanon.The group also said its fighters fired an "advanced missile" at the Palmachim air base south of Tel Aviv.The NNA said Israel struck "an apartment in a residential building" in a northern district of the coastal city of Sidon, killing one person and causing a fire.A displaced man stands next to tents during rainfall, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah DalshAn AFP correspondent saw damage to an apartment building as the army cordoned off the area while rescue teams fought a blaze and residents rushed into the street, some carrying belongings.The Hamas source, requesting anonymity, said official Wissam Taha was killed.Israel has repeatedly struck Hamas targets in Lebanon in recent years, including during previous hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that erupted over the Gaza war, and after a 2024 ceasefire.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has proposed direct negotiations with Israel, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday responded "no" when asked whether Israel was set to hold such talks.UN seeks US$308 million for Lebanon as war displaces 800,000 peopleMARITIME BORDER DEALIsraeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen instead called for the cancellation of a US-brokered 2022 maritime border deal with Lebanon, adding that "a vague promise" of improved security for Israel under the deal "was not fulfilled".A Lebanese official had told AFP on Saturday that the country was preparing to form a delegation to negotiate with Israel, but that there was no agenda, timing or location yet decided for any talks.French President Emmanuel Macron has said the Lebanese government was ready to engage in "direct talks" with Israel, and he offered to host negotiations.Israel's military also renewed an evacuation warning for Beirut's southern suburbs, which it has repeatedly struck in the past fortnight.An AFP photographer in south Beirut saw empty streets covered with debris and buildings flattened, with smoke still rising in the area after strikes in previous days.Southeast of Sidon, Lebanon's health ministry said an overnight strike killed three people in the village of Al-Qatrani while Israel's military said it hit "several Hezbollah launch sites" there.The Israeli army also said it had destroyed "command centres" belonging to Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force in Beirut.Source: AFP/fsSign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. 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