ISTANBUL

Israeli warplanes on Monday carried out several airstrikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, along with the southern provinces of Tyre and Nabatieh amid escalating cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli warplanes carried out four airstrikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

Later, the agency reported that Israeli aircraft carried out a fifth airstrike on the southern suburbs, as plumes of smoke rose into the sky over the area.

It was not immediately clear whether the bombardment resulted in any human casualties.

Earlier, the Israeli army announced in a statement the launch of a new offensive on Lebanon, claiming it was targeting Hezbollah sites.

Israeli warplanes also targeted the building of Al-Qard Al-Hasan – a Hezbollah-affiliated nonprofit financial institution – in the town of Toul in Nabatieh.

Israeli aircraft also targeted the Al-Qard Al-Hasan building in Qana, in the coastal Tyre district.

Warplanes also hit the vicinity of the Jnah area in Beirut’s southern suburbs, NNA reported, without providing further details.

The Israeli army claimed that it had targeted a prominent Hezbollah operative in Beirut, without identifying him.

Early Monday, Israel launched airstrikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon, killing 31 people and injuring 149 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli airstrikes continued throughout the day, targeting villages and towns in southern Lebanon as well as Beirut.

Hezbollah said early Monday that it had targeted a military site in northern Israel with a barrage of rockets and drones, in response to ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and a joint US-Israeli military offensive against Iran.

The escalation came as the US and Israel continued a large-scale attack on Iran since Saturday, killing several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military officials.

In response, Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries which are home to US assets.