Beirut, May 13 (Petra) -- At least 15 people were killed and 10 others wounded, including women and children, in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting several towns in southern Lebanon on Wednesday evening, according to a Lebanese security source.

The strikes focused on the towns of Arabsalim, Shhour, Al-Namayriyeh, Roumin, Al-Abbassieh, and Harouf. The escalation comes despite a fragile US-mediated ceasefire that has been in place since mid-April but has faced repeated violations.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday that the total death toll since the outbreak of hostilities on March 2 has risen to 2,896, with 8,824 others injured.

The latest wave of attacks follows a day of intensified aerial activity. Earlier on Wednesday, separate strikes targeting vehicles on a coastal highway south of Beirut and in the Nabatieh district killed at least 12 people, including paramedics and a Lebanese soldier.

Local humanitarian organizations have warned that the continued violence is deepening the displacement crisis in the south, where infrastructure damage has left many villages without essential services.

//Petra// AF