Beirut, Nov 22 (IANS): At least 47 people were killed and 22 others wounded in Israeli airstrikes on the eastern Lebanese governorate of Baalbek-Hermel, its governor Bachir Khodr said.

The casualties occurred in various towns and villages across the governorate, he added, noting that rescue teams were still searching for missing people beneath the rubble of destroyed homes, Xinhua news agency reported.

Lebanese military sources, who spoke anonymously, told Xinhua that the Israeli military on Thursday launched 48 airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, while targeting 18 border towns and villages in southern Lebanon with about 100 shells.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters attacked central Israel with missiles.

"For the first time, a salvo of qualitative missiles targeted the Hatzor air base, which is 150 km from the Lebanese border, located in central Israel near kibbutz Hatzor Ashdod. It contains squadrons of warplanes," said the statement.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah also targeted Israeli military gatherings at different sites in southern Lebanon and northern Israel with missile barrages, according to the statement.

Since September, the Israeli army has levelled up its airstrikes on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. In early October, Israel initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon.