Most - at least 52 people died yesterday in Israeli airstrikes in the East Lebanon region, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported, quoted by DPA and BTA.
About 72 people were injured in the strikes, which were aimed at 14 different areas in the eastern Lebanese governorate of Balbek-Hermel, the ministry added.
The largest number of victims there was in the Lebanese city of Amhaz, where 12 people died, the ministry's statement also said.
The Israeli military said that air raid sirens were activated in a number of areas in central Israel early this morning after rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory, Reuters reported, citing BTA .
Soon after, they said three of them crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and some were intercepted by air defenses.
Later in a statement, the group of armed pro-Iranian Iraqi groups called the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" said it had launched drones at a "vital target" in northern Israel. It is not clear if this is related to the air alert declared in central Israel.
Earlier last night, the Israeli army announced that it had killed a high-ranking official of the radical Palestinian movement "Hamas" Izzedin Kassab, BTA reported, citing Reuters. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said he was one of the organization's last remaining senior leaders and was responsible for coordinating actions with other groups. He was eliminated in an airstrike in the city of Khan Yunis.
"Hamas" confirmed in a statement the death of its high-ranking representative, specifying that he was killed together with another member of the movement - Ayman Ayesh. The two were in a car in the enclave when they were struck by the Israeli strike.
Ayesh led a regional division of "Hamas" but, unlike Kassab, was not a member of the movement's political bureau, which makes group decisions, Reuters explained.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have detained several people on suspicion of taking classified information from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, DPA reported, citing information in Israeli media.
This was revealed after an investigating judge partially lifted a media blackout imposed on the case. He announced that the leak could reveal Israeli military targets in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu's office denied media claims that its employees were among those arrested.
The prime minister said the information blackout must be lifted immediately. "It serves only to maliciously and deliberately tarnish the office of the Prime Minister," the government press office said in a statement.
The Israeli counter-intelligence service "Shin Bet", the army and the police are involved in the investigation, according to DPA.