18 killed, 30 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on southern, eastern Lebanon

At least 18 people were killed and 30 others injured early Sunday in Israeli air strikes on dozens of towns and villages in southern and eastern Lebanon, according to Lebanese military sources.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes carried out around 30 raids early Sunday on the areas of Baalbek, Hermel, and Western Bekaa in eastern Lebanon, killing six people and wounding 14 others.

"About 36 raids were also recorded on the areas of Arqoub, Marjeyoun, Bint Jbeil, Sidon, Tyre, Nabatieh and Jezzine in southern Lebanon," the sources said, resulting in 12 deaths and 16 injuries.

"The raids targeted residential buildings, health centers, and clinics, in addition to sites belonging to Hezbollah," the sources noted.

The raids, according to the sources, also destroyed more than 45 homes and caused extensive damage to the electricity grid that supplies border areas in southern and eastern Lebanon and villages in western Bekaa.

Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have sharply escalated after the latter announced a shift in military focus from the Gaza Strip to the northern front.

This intensified the ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, triggering retaliatory Israeli artillery fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon.