EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell visits Lebanon as escalations continue

The EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell held a meeting with Najib Mikati, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister in Beirut on Sunday.

Borrell’s visit to Lebanon comes at the tail-end of a Middle East tour related to the ongoing wars and the crises in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Before his visit to Beirut, Borrell visited Cyprus and Jordan.

He is later set to meet with speaker Nabih Berri, who is spearheading Lebanon’s negotiations for a cease-fire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

He was also planning to meet with Lebanon’s army chief and United Nations officials in the country.

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike on a building in Shmustar in the Baalbek region killed 17 people including a mother and her four children, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The strike hit a three storey building late on Saturday night in the eastern town.

According to Shmustar's Mayor, Suheil Hajj Hassan, the families in the building had modest jobs and couldn't afford to leave the area.

A full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in September. Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and the fighting.