Israeli airstrikes Tuesday killed at least five people in southern Lebanon, where its ground forces also expanded an ongoing invasion.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said three people were killed and several others wounded when Israeli warplanes struck a house in the town of Maarakeh in the Tyre district.

In a separate incident, an Israeli drone strike targeted the town of Deir al-Zahrani in the Nabatieh region, killing one person, according to the report.

The agency also reported that another person was killed in a dawn strike on the town of Zebdine in the Nabatieh area.

Also Tuesday, the Israeli army deployed an additional division in southern Lebanon, as Israel continues to expand its ongoing ground offensive in the Arab country.

In a statement, the army said the 98th Division joined operations alongside the 91st, 36th, 146th and 162nd divisions "as part of expanding ground operations," alongside ongoing artillery and airstrikes targeting areas in southern Lebanon.

The military has not given any geographical details on the furthest point to which its soldiers have advanced into Lebanese territory.

Israeli media reported that the military did not intend at this stage to push troops deeper than around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border.

The military said the additional forces are working to "reinforce the front defensive line and remove threats to northern residents," without specifying the extent of the incursion into Lebanese territory.

According to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the Israeli move aims to push Hezbollah members north of the Litani River and destroy sites and buildings in border villages Israel claims are used for military purposes.

The newspaper added that operations in southern Lebanon are "more complex” than in Gaza due to the terrain.

The paper said the army is preparing to present an operational plan to political authorities that includes controlling front-line villages while maintaining ongoing military operations even after the war with Iran ends.

Israel has carried out airstrikes and a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2, despite a cease-fire that took effect in November 2024.

The number of people killed in Israeli strikes since March 2 rose to 1,497, with 4,639 others injured, according to the Health Ministry.

Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into Israel since early March, saying the attacks are in response to continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon as well as the killing of Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28.