BEIRUT

Two people were killed and 12 others injured Thursday in Israeli airstrikes targeting the villages of Majdal Selm, Jmaijmeh and Chaqra in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Civil Defense.

The state-run news agency NNA reported earlier that Israeli warplanes had carried out the strikes in the locations, without providing further details.

The local Al Jadeed television channel reported that the two killed were members of the Hezbollah group, one of whom was a field commander in the elite Radwan Force.

Hezbollah has yet to comment on the incident.

Fears have grown about a full-fledged war between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group amid an exchange of almost daily attacks. The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught against Gaza which has killed more than 38,800 people since last October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio