BEIRUT, Lebanon / ISTANBUL

Five people were killed and several others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said.

Israeli warplanes and drones carried out strikes that left one person dead in each of the towns of Taybeh, Shebaa, Yater and Khraibeh, along with varying injuries, the ministry’s Emergency Operations Center said in separate statements.

Later, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli aircraft carried out a series of heavy airstrikes “targeting the area between the towns of Ansariyeh and Adloun, resulting in the death of a man from the Syrian community, while several minor injuries were also recorded.”

The attacks came as the Israeli army blew up a house during an incursion on the outskirts of Aitaroun, according to the state news agency.

The NNA said an Israeli military force advanced toward the foothills of Jabal al-Bout near Aitaroun and blew up a Lebanese home located a few hundred meters from the occupied Jal al-Deir site.

The outlet said Israeli drones dropped stun grenades in Houla while residents were moving furniture, though no injuries were reported.​​​​​​​

Drones also hovered extensively over Nabatieh, Iqlim al-Tuffah, Zibdin, Mayfadoun, Chaqra and other southern towns.

The NNA said an Israeli drone dropped a grenade near an excavator in Yaroun for the second time, while another drone fell near heavy machinery in Meiss al-Jabal after releasing a munition. Separately, leaflets were dropped in the eastern neighborhood of the town.

Israeli drones were also spotted flying over Jibchit, Zrariyeh, Kfar Sir, Aitaroun and Maroun al-Ras, it added.

Wednesday’s developments came just days after another drone strike killed a Lebanese civilian on a motorcycle in Nabatieh district. The attack was part of a wave of Israeli airstrikes that also hit Ali al-Taher and Kfar Tebnit in the same district, igniting fires and damaging homes.

Israel launched a military offensive in Lebanon on Oct. 8, 2023, which escalated into a full-scale war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and injuring around 17,000.

A ceasefire was reached in November, but Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target activities of the Hezbollah group.

Under the truce, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Tel Aviv refused to comply.

Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.