Beirut, Nov 1 (IANS): Israeli airstrikes on eastern and southern Lebanon killed 24 people and injured 19 others on Thursday, according to official and military sources in Lebanon.

Israeli warplanes and drones carried out 35 airstrikes in southern Lebanon and 12 in the east, including one that targeted a motorcycle in the Bekaa Valley in east Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Lebanese military sources, who spoke anonymously.

The Civil Defense teams, the Lebanese Red Cross, and the Islamic Health Authority are still working to remove the rubble of destroyed homes, searching for missing persons.

The military sources said that clashes continued for a third day in a row between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, which is trying to advance from the eastern side of the village of Khiam to its centre.

They pointed out that the Israeli forces had yet to reach the centre of Khiam, a key Hezbollah stronghold on the eastern side of the border area in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a series of statements that its members targeted several Israeli gatherings with rockets.

The military sources told Xinhua that the Lebanese army monitored dozens of rockets and artillery shells launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel and toward the eastern and southern outskirts of Khiam.

The Lebanese health ministry reported on Thursday that the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since the beginning of the war on October 8, 2023, reached 2,867, while injuries went up to 13,047.

Since September 23, the Israeli army has been launching an intensive air attack on Lebanon in an escalation with Hezbollah. Earlier this month, Israel initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon.