BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people were killed and 28 others injured in Israeli airstrikes targeting several towns and villages in southern Lebanon early on Thursday, according to Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center.

The center said an airstrike on the village of Harouf in the Nabatieh district killed two people and wounded eight others, while a strike on the municipality of Arabsalim wounded eight people. Two airstrikes on the village of Touline in the Marjayoun district wounded seven people.

A strike on the town of Kounine in the Bint Jbeil district killed three people and injured four others. Another airstrike on the town of Bissariyeh in the Sidon district killed three people and wounded one. An airstrike on a residential and commercial building in a neighborhood in the town of Kfar Remman killed two people, while rescue teams continued clearing rubble and searching for casualties. An airstrike on the Saf al-Hawa area in the city of Bint Jbeil killed three people.

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military positions, settlements and Merkava tanks along the border, and carried out strikes on the Kirya complex in Tel Aviv and the Dolphin military intelligence barracks north of Tel Aviv.

Also on Thursday, the Israeli military said in a statement that an Israeli soldier was killed during a clash with Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon, adding that Israeli forces killed "several" militants and were continuing to search for others.

Hezbollah entered the confrontation on March 2 by launching rockets from southern Lebanon toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire on Nov. 27, 2024, prompting Israel to carry out an intensified military campaign targeting multiple areas across the country.