A residential building floor in Bourj Hammoud district, on the northern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, was left damaged after it was struck by a drone in the early hours of Friday (March 13), Lebanon's state media said.

It was the first time in this war that Beirut's northern suburbs have been hit as Israel appeared to widen its targeting.

Two other buildings in the heart of Beirut near the Lebanese government's headquarters were also left damaged after Israeli airstrikes hit them on Thursday (March 12), ramping up Israel's offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah and dragging Lebanon deeper into the Middle East war.

An airstrike hit a building in the Bachoura neighborhood, around 1 km (mile) from the Lebanese government's Grand Serail headquarters at around 5:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on Thursday.

Before the strike, the Israeli military issued a warning telling residents they were near a Hezbollah facility it intended to target. It later issued a similar warning to residents of the nearby district of Zuqaq al-Blat, before hitting a building even closer to the Serail.

Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah last week after the group opened fire on Israel on March 2, saying it aimed to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.

Hezbollah has fired rockets and drones at Israel every day since, including its largest barrage late on Wednesday (March 11) that triggered heavy Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

-Production: Mohamed Azakir, Joelle Kozaily/Reuters