The first Israeli airstrike on Beirut, the Lebanese capital, struck without warning on Tuesday, destroying a four-story building in the heart of the city. A barrage of airstrikes then struck the city's southern suburbs in quick succession, sending plumes of black smoke across the skyline.

The city was on edge, and the Israeli military issued warnings for four more imminent strikes in the capital. People jumped into their cars or took to the streets on foot, trying to get out of the city, clogging the roads with crowds and bumper-to-bumper traffic. Few were certain of where to go or how to avoid the neighborhoods highlighted in the warnings.

"There is no safe place tonight," said Mohammed Awada, 52, who fled the southern suburbs of Beirut in October.

The Israeli bombardment of Beirut and its surroundings on Tuesday was the most intense since the war between Hezbollah and Israel escalated, stoking panic in the Lebanese capital as people anxiously waited for news of a cease-fire deal.