Beirut, Nov 11 (IANS): At least 24 people were killed and several others injured on Sunday afternoon in Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.

According to NNA, most of the casualties resulted from Israeli attacks on towns and villages in the city of Baalbek, the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, and the Bekaa Valley, Xinhua news agency reported.

The agency reported that the death toll from the Israeli airstrike earlier in the day, which targeted the town of Almat in the Jbeil District north of Beirut, has risen to 23, with search efforts still ongoing for additional victims.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli forces near Hassan Gate near the occupied town of Shebaa and another gathering of Israeli soldiers at HaGoshrim, a kibbutz in Israel.

It also targeted the Shraga base north of the city of Acre with a barrage of rockets and a moshav in northern Israel.

The Israeli army has been conducting intensive air attacks on Lebanon in an escalation with Hezbollah since late September.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the death toll in the country from Israeli airstrikes since the onset of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in October 2023 has reached 3,189, with injuries rising to 14,078.