Beirut, Dec 14 (IANS): Three Hezbollah militants were killed and another one injured in Israeli airstrikes on border areas in southern Lebanon, a military source said.

The source said that while one militant was killed in an airstrike targeting a house in the southeastern village of Kafr Kila, two others died and the fourth injured in an air raid targeting a residence in the southern town of Yater, reports Xinhua news agency.

The military source noted that three batches of missiles were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel and were intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome.

Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Hezbollah announced that its militants attacked two Israeli sites in southwestern Lebanon.

The escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border began when Hezbollah fired rockets on October 8 in support of Hamas's surprise attack against Israel the previous day.

In response, the Israeli forces fired heavy artillery on southeastern Lebanon.

The clashes between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 150 people.

The victims comprise104 Hezbollah militants, a Lebanese soldier, one member of the Amal Movement, 16 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, and 28 civilians, including three journalists, according to security sources.