Israel launched a massive series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite an extension of the truce between the two countries.

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages.

And the continuing bombardment has only increased scepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on more than two dozen villages on Saturday, including one more than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border.

It also reported a new exodus of residents towards the southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut.

Later Saturday, Hezbollah announced it had struck a military target in northern Israel. It said its fighters had targeted "the Ya'ara barracks... with a swarm of attack drones", after having announced multiple operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.