Jerusalem, Oct 20 (IANS): Israel's military said on Sunday it carried out a strike on an intelligence headquarters belonging to Hezbollah in Beirut and attacked dozens of villages in Lebanon.

In a statement, the military said Israeli warplanes "conducted an intelligence-based strike on a command centre of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters and an underground weapons workshop in Beirut."

During the airstrike, Al-Haj Abbas Salama, described as a senior commander in Hezbollah's Southern Front, was killed, along with two other Hezbollah members: Rada Abbas Awada, identified as a senior communications expert, and Ahmad Ali Hussein, head of a weapons manufacturing unit responsible for Hezbollah's strategic arsenal.

Residents of Beirut's southern suburb were warned by the Israeli military to evacuate immediately, signalling a resumption of heavy airstrikes. The Israeli Air Force has repeatedly bombed the suburb, where Hezbollah's headquarters is located, killing both civilians and Hezbollah fighters, Xinhua news agency reported.

The military also reported continued attacks on villages in southern Lebanon, with "dozens" of sites targeted from the air and ground over the past day. Ground troops reportedly raided villages in coordination with airstrikes, killing more than 65 people, whom the military identified as Hezbollah fighters. Israeli forces also attacked rocket launchers and other military infrastructure.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that 13 people were killed and several others injured on Sunday morning in Israeli airstrikes on different towns and villages in southern and Mount Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired about 100 rockets into the Western and Upper Galilee areas. Some of the rockets were intercepted by the Israel Air Force, while others landed in the area, the Israeli military said.

Air raid sirens were also heard in Haifa and the Haifa Bay area after at least three projectiles were launched from Lebanon, with one intercepted and two landing in open areas.