Beirut, Apr 18 (IANS): Two Hezbollah fighters and one civilian were killed, and three civilians were wounded on Thursday at dawn in a series of Israeli air strikes on villages in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese military and medical sources.

Lebanese military sources, who spoke anonymously, said that Israeli drones and warplanes carried out six airstrikes on the southeast village of Khiam and three raids on the southeast village of Kafr Kila, resulting in human casualties and material damage, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah indicated that its fighters attacked Israeli sites in the occupied Shebaa Farms, al-Motella, and al-Malikiyah sites, and the Gesher Haziv.

The military sources added they monitored the launching of about 40 surface-to-surface missiles from Lebanon into northern Israel at dawn, and Israeli Iron Dome missiles responded to some of them.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 426 people on the Lebanese side, including 271 Hezbollah members and 76 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources.