BEIRUT, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon early Monday killed a field commander and three other members of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.

One of the air strikes destroyed a house in the southern village of Sultaniyeh and damaged nearby houses, killing the Hezbollah commander Ali Ahmed Hussein Jaafar and two other members while injuring four civilians, said the sources on condition of anonymity.

The sources added that another airstrike targeted the southeast village of Kafr Kila, killing a Hezbollah fighter, destroying five houses, and damaging over 18 others.

According to the sources, Israel carried out three air strikes Monday morning on three border towns and villages in the eastern and central sectors. It also fired 45 shells at ten towns and villages in the eastern, central, and western sectors of the border region in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters attacked several Israeli sites near the Lebanon-Israel border.

Chief of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz and UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka issued a joint statement calling Lebanon and Israel to recommit to the cessation of hostilities under the framework of resolution 1701 to avoid further escalation, saying "there is still space for diplomacy."

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 417 people on the Lebanese side, including 265 Hezbollah members and 74 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources. ■