MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge took a major blow on Saturday after being thrashed 4-0 at home by Tottenham.
The four-time defending champion conceded two goals in the opening 20 minutes at the Etihad Stadium and twice more after the break to extend its losing run to five games in all competitions.
It is five points behind league leader Liverpool, which plays last-place Southampton on Sunday.
City fell behind 2-0 to two goals from James Maddison in the 13th and 20th minutes. Pedro Porro added a third for Tottenham in the 52nd and substitute Brennan Johnson completed the rout in the third minute of added time.
Manager Pep Guardiola had never lost four successive matches in his trophy-laden coaching career at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City. That record has now been extended to five.
This was City’s first game since announcing Guardiola would stay on for a further two years after extending his contract this week.
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Tottenham's James Maddison celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Tottenham's James Maddison, 2nd from right, scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Tottenham's James Maddison scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 15 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said 63 people were wounded in the strikes, which were the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.
The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.
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.
The 4 a.m. strikes destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut. Hezbollah legislator Amin Shiri said no Hezbollah officials were inside. The attack stripped the facades from some nearby buildings and crumpled cars.
“The area is residential, with closely packed buildings and narrow streets, making the situation challenging,” said Walid Al-Hashash, a first responder with the Lebanese Civil Defense.
Israel’s military did not comment on the casualties.
Also Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.
Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area, said those killed were Palestinian refugees from nearby al-Rashidieh camp who were out fishing.
Despite a warning last month by Israel's army to avoid Lebanon's southern coast, "you can’t tell someone who needs to eat that you can’t fish," Bikai said.
The Health Ministry said other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern village of Budai.
Two Western diplomatic officials on Saturday described disputed points between Israel and Lebanon in cease-fire negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.
The current proposal calls for a two-month cease-fire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. Thousands more Lebanese army troops would patrol the border area with U.N. peacekeepers, and an international committee would monitor the deal's implementation.
The officials said Israel wanted more guarantees that Hezbollah’s weapons are removed from the border area. Israeli officials have said they would not agree to a deal that did not explicitly grant them freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believe Hezbollah is violating it.
Lebanese officials have said the inclusion of such a term would violate their country's sovereignty. And Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week that the militant group would not agree to a deal that doen'ts not entail a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression."
Lebanon and Israel also dispute which countries would sit on the monitoring committee. The officials said Israel refused to allow France, which has been close with Lebanon since its colonial rule there ended. Lebanon refused to have Britain, a close ally of Israel.
In northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 80 people, total, were killed on Thursday and Friday, including near the Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. It said dozens of people were trapped under the rubble.
Israel’s army said it wasn't aware of a strike near Kamal Adwan, and it didn’t respond to questions about the other attacks.
On Saturday, at least six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Associated Press reporters and staff at Nasser Hospital.
“Suddenly we woke up to dust, smoke and a fire,” said one grieving father, Ahmad Ghassan. “We found him dead and his brother injured.” Another father wept as he carried his child's body in a bloodstained sheet.
And Al-Awda Hospital said it received six bodies after Israel shelled a house north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Palestinian death toll from the 13-month-long war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. It has said more than half the dead are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has devastated wide areas, and around 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands live in tent camps with little food, water or basic services.
At least two women were shot dead Saturday while waiting in line for bread in central Deir al-Balah, relatives and witnesses told the AP. It was unclear who shot them and why.
The United Nations says its attempts to support hard-hit northern Gaza, which has been the focus of a renewed Israeli offensive for weeks, have been denied or impeded, and that less than 20% of the population has remained there since the offensive began.
Associated Press writers Fadi Tawil in Tyre, Lebanon, Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem, Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip and Mohammad Jahjouh in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip contributed to this report.
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Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
People gather to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Two men stand at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers stand on an excavator as they search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man carries a suitcase as he leaves the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Lebanese police stand in front of a portrait shows the late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A woman takes part in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
People gather to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A Syrian woman mourns as rescue workers carry the body of a victim at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents observe the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
An excavator removes a destroyed car as rescue workers gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Destroyed buildings are seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, early Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
