Beirut, Feb 20 : A massive explosion was heard after Israeli warplanes hit with air-to-surface missiles multiple targets in the southern town of Ghazieh, around 45 km from Lebanon's capital Beirut, causing several casualties, Lebanese military sources told the media.


Civil defence vehicles and the Lebanese Red Cross teams arrived at the targeted areas with several bulldozers and cranes to carry out the rescue work, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, casualties were transferred to a hospital in the nearby city of Sidon, said the civil defence, without specifying the details of the casualties.

The Lebanese army has isolated the area, with all roads leading to it being blocked.

Israel's military announced on Monday that its warplanes carried out airstrikes near the city of Sidon in Lebanon, stating that the attack targeted the Hezbollah armed group's weapons storage facilities.

Two weapons storage facilities were struck in the attack, which, according to a statement released by the military, was carried out following an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle launched by Hezbollah toward the Lower Galilee region in northern Israel earlier on Monday.

"An examination of the incident suggests that the UAV was most likely launched from Lebanon by the Hezbollah," said the military, adding that the incident was under review.

The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since October 8, 2023, after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

/IANS