BEIRUT, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and several others wounded in Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Friday, while Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier twice over Beirut, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.

An airstrike on a house in the village of Bafliyeh in the Tyre district killed two people and injured another at dawn. Additional casualties were reported in separate strikes, with Civil Defense teams transporting the wounded to hospitals in Tyre.

Israeli warplanes also struck multiple villages and towns in districts of Tyre, Bint Jbeil, and Nabatieh, while heavy artillery shelling targeted villages in the western and central sectors of southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a series of statements that it launched rocket salvos targeting several Israeli sites, including the settlements of Manara, Margaliot, Malikiya, and Shlomi, as well as other locations in northern Israel.

The group added that it targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in the Maroun al-Ras border area, the Khazan hill in the border village of Odaisseh, the Taybeh area, and the outskirts of the village of Mais al-Jabal.

Hezbollah also said it detonated explosive devices against an Israeli D9 military bulldozer in the village of Taybeh and against a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the border village of Aitaroun, claiming direct hits.

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