Beirut, Oct 25 (IANS): At least 18 people were killed and several others injured in Israeli airstrikes on different areas of Lebanon, the media reported.

According to the National News Agency on Thursday, Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike on the southern village of Kfar Tebnit, killing four people, destroying buildings and houses, and turning neighbourhoods into ruins.

It said Israeli warplanes also launched a raid on a house in the village of Hallaniya in the eastern Bekaa Valley, killing five and wounding several others, who were later transported to the Rayak hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.

Moreover, an Israeli airstrike targeted El Khodr, a locality in Baalbek-Hermel, killing seven and wounding 14, while another strike hit a vehicle in the mountain area of Aley, killing two inside the car, the report added.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in separate statements that it had targeted gatherings of Israeli forces in several settlements, including Al-Manara, Kiryat Shmona, and Misgav Am.

Hezbollah added that its fighters clashed with Israeli forces in the village of Aita al-Shaab and the town of Adaisseh in southern Lebanon, setting two Israeli Merkava tanks ablaze, destroying them, and killing their crew.

The Shia group also claimed to have targeted the Sanat Jin base, a logistical base located north of the Acre city in northern Israel.

Since September 23, the Israeli army has been launching intensive airstrikes on Lebanon in a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah.

Since the beginning of the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict on October 8, 2023, 2,593 people have been killed and 12,119 others injured in Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, according to a report released on Thursday by the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Lebanese Council of Ministers.