BEIRUT, March 17 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike targeting the airport road in Beirut, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

In a statement, the Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health said nine others were wounded in the strike.

Mohammad Aziz, head of Lebanon's Civil Aviation Authority, said Beirut airport is operating normally and that the road leading to it remains open.

Aziz noted that the latest Israeli airstrike targeted the old airport road, not the main access route.

In earlier strikes on Tuesday, at least eight people, including three Lebanese army members, were killed and several others wounded as Israel targeted multiple towns and villages across southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) and official sources.

In the southern town of Aaitit in the Tyre district, Israeli warplanes carried out three consecutive airstrikes within less than half an hour.

Also on Tuesday, Israeli forces launched a new wave of attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs, striking the Laylaki area, according to local media reports.

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held talks with French Ambassador to Lebanon Herve Magro on the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, including ongoing French efforts to reach solutions to halt the continued escalation.

Aoun also received Finnish Ambassador Anne Meskanen, who reaffirmed her country's support for Lebanon under the current difficult circumstances, including contributions to aid for those displaced by the Israeli attacks.

Hezbollah announced the launch of rockets from Lebanon toward Israel on March 2 for the first time since a ceasefire was declared on Nov. 27, 2024. Israel subsequently launched a military campaign against the group, involving intensive airstrikes on several areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, in addition to Beirut's southern suburbs.