BEIRUT / ISTANBUL 

Israeli warplanes launched a series of heavy airstrikes Thursday on southern and eastern Lebanon, hitting areas in the Bekaa Valley and the districts of Baalbek and Jezzine, in a sharp escalation and new breaches of a ceasefire agreement.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli jets struck the towns of Mahmoudiyeh and Khardali in the Jezzine district with three raids and carried out three additional strikes near the town of Jarmaq in the same region, the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.

In the east, strikes targeted the mountainous eastern range between the rugged areas of Kheraybeh and Brital, as well as the Shaara area bordering the town of Janta in Bekaa.

Israeli aircraft also hit the town of Nasiriyah and the Tallet al-Sunduq area in the Zahle district of Bekaa, the agency added.

Another strike targeted the outskirts of Brital, while the last two airstrikes hit the hills stretching between Kheraybeh and Brital, bringing the total number of strikes on the eastern range to seven, according to NNA.

No information was yet available about casualties.