An Israeli airstrike killed at least 23 people in the village of Aalmat, north of Beirut and far from the areas in southern and eastern Lebanon where the militant Hezbollah group has a major presence. Lebanon's Health Ministry said a further six people were wounded. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon since September, vowing to severely weaken Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets and drones at Israel since it launched its air and ground assault on Gaza over a year ago.