BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS - Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to Lebanon's National News Agency, while Hezbollah announced a series of attacks on Israeli military sites and settlements.

In a series of statements, Hezbollah said its fighters launched attacks on several Israeli sites and targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers and vehicles, using rockets, drones, and artillery shells.

Lebanese Interior and Municipalities Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said that Lebanon is being subjected to destructive Israeli attacks as part of a war imposed on it, expressing hope for support from Arab countries and the international community to stop the war and back the Lebanese government's decision to extend its authority over all its territory using its own forces.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said in its daily report that the total death toll since March 2 has risen to 1,318, with 3,935 people wounded.

Also on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that Hajj Yusuf Ismail Hashem, commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, was killed by the Israeli Navy in a strike in Beirut.

According to the statement, Hashem, a senior commander with more than 40 years of experience, was responsible for the Hezbollah units that engaged in combat against IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon.

The IDF added that Hashem led Hezbollah's rehabilitation and commanded its rocket launches and drone attacks against Israel.

"His elimination constitutes a significant blow to Hezbollah's ability to carry out terrorist operations against Israeli civilians and to manage ongoing combat against IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon," said the statement.

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Meanwhile, the UN Security Council will focus on the Middle East in April, taking up issues concerning Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, Bahrain's permanent representative to the United Nations and president of the council for the month, said Wednesday.

Speaking at a daily briefing on the Security Council's program of work for April, Alrowaiei said four general priorities shape Bahrain's membership in the council in general -- consolidating peace and stability, addressing traditional and emerging security threats, ensuring inclusion and participation, and advancing multilateralism.

The priorities are integrated in the council's program of work and beyond, he said.

The presidency's priority for the month will address the current regional and international environment, including issues concerning Iran, Palestine, Lebanon and other issues, according to Alrowaiei.

Cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has continued along the Lebanon-Israel border since March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on Nov 27, 2024, triggering intensified Israeli airstrikes across southern and eastern Lebanon.