BEIRUT -- At least 11 people were killed and 48 others injured in an initial toll on Thursday evening in an Israeli airstrike targeting al-Noueiri, a densely populated area in central Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

The airstrike caused heavy damage in the region, local TV channel Al Jadeed reported.

Ambulances rushed to the scene to transport victims to hospitals, while civil defense teams worked to extinguish the fires caused by the explosion.

Hospitals in Beirut are calling on people to donate blood of all types.

Israeli media reported that Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah's Liaison and Coordination Unit, was targeted in the airstrike.

This is the third time that Israel has targeted the Lebanese capital Beirut in less than a month, after it attacked the al-Cola and al-Bachoura areas.