The Israeli army confirmed Monday that it attacked a day earlier a "terrorist target" in the Northern Metn town of Ain Saadeh east of Beirut, adding that reports of civilian casualties and "all details of the incident" are being reviewed.

An Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday as Israel's army said it was targeting Hezbollah, with the raid sending a large plume of smoke billowing across the skyline.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Sunday killed at least 15 people, a day after Israel threatened to hit Lebanon's main border crossing with Syria, forcing it to close.

Lebanese Christians marked Easter Sunday by turning their prayers to the south, where villages remain trapped by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said attacks by Israel and Hezbollah near its positions "could potentially draw return fire".

An Israeli strike targeted an apartment in a residential building in Ain Saadeh on Sunday, a town east of Beirut in the hills overlooking the city, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The area had until now been spared clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, which on Sunday stepped up its strikes on the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, including an attack that killed four people near Beirut's main public hospital.

Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir visited troops in southern Lebanon on Sunday and pledged to intensify strikes against Hezbollah.

Israeli strikes on south Beirut and its suburbs killed at least four people on Sunday, a day after Israel threatened to hit Lebanon's main border crossing with Syria, forcing it to close.

President Joseph Aoun hit back Sunday at those who have criticized the Lebanese state for pursuing diplomacy and negotiations.

Hezbollah on Sunday said it had targeted an Israeli warship with a cruise missile off the Lebanese coast, the first such claim by the group since the start of the Middle East war.