Emergency workers and local residents were seen searching through debris after several buildings collapsed. Medical teams said eight people were killed and five others injured in Maarakeh.

In nearby Shernai, paramedics reported that 14 people, including two children , died after a residential structure collapsed during the strikes.

Residents described scenes of panic and confusion after the explosions.

“As soon as the explosion happened at four o'clock, I ran out of the house screaming. I couldn’t see anything because of the thick smoke, so I called out to my neighbours, but no one answered. I came here to be with my family and loved ones — I’ve lived with them all my life — but they were all killed,” resident Mona Maarakeh said.

Video from the area showed destroyed buildings, scattered belongings and rescue teams moving through damaged neighbourhoods.

The Israeli military said it carried out airstrikes on more than 150 locations in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. In a statement, the IDF described the sites as “Hezbollah-affiliated and terrorist targets in the Tyre and Nabatieh areas of southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.”

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that 3,269 people had been killed and 9,840 injured since fighting escalated on March 2.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier this week that the military had been ordered to intensify operations against Hezbollah and expand ground activity inside Lebanon.

Reports also suggested Israel i forces had crossed beyond the so-called “yellow line” in southern Lebanon, an area Israel says is designed to prevent Hezbollah attacks near the border.

Israel has previously stated that it plans to establish a “buffer zone” extending from the border area to the Litani River inside Lebanese territory.