People stand on a highway as black smoke rises from an industrial district, attacked by Israeli strikes, in the southern coastal town of Ghazieh, Lebanon, Feb 19, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT - The Israeli army reported Tuesday that an anti-tank missile launched by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon hit an air base in northern Israel on Monday night, prompting new Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon.

A barrage of approximately 20 launches were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel, the army said in a statement, adding that some of them were intercepted by its air defense forces while the rest fell on open fields.

An anti-tank missile hit an air base in the Meron region in the Galilee, the army said, adding that the Aerial Control Unit in the base was not damaged. The hit "did not harm the site's capabilities," according to the army.

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In a new series of strikes, the army said, sites of Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group and political party, were targeted.

Meanwhile, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Tuesday its fighters carried out several military operations against Israeli targets, including the Meron base for command, control, and air surveillance with a batch of missiles, as well as the Israeli military sites of Al-Marj, Ramtha, and Ruwaisat Al-Alam.

Hezbollah also indicated in a previous statement that the group began using new weapons in its battles with the Israeli army, including Falaq One, Falaq Two, and Almas surface-to-surface missiles.

Israeli soldiers run as they carry a stretcher towards a military helicopter during an exercise simulating evacuation of wounded people in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, Feb 20, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

In addition, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua that Hezbollah on Tuesday launched the biggest number of surface-to-surface missiles from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel since the outbreak of confrontations on Lebanon-Israel borders on Oct 8, 2023.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, said their military and security centers, deployed along the borderline with Israel, detected the launching of about 200 surface-to-surface missiles from several unspecified locations in southern Lebanon to northern Israel.

The Israeli Iron Dome intercepted only a small amount of them, not exceeding 30 missiles, said the sources.

The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since Oct 8, 2023, after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 320 people on the Lebanese side, including 216 Hezbollah members and 59 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources.