Beirut, August 15 (QNA) - At least seven people were killed and three others were injured early Saturday in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Ansar.

According to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), the strike hit a house on the outskirts of Ansar, near Al-Zrariyeh, completely destroying the building.

Lebanese rescue and civil defense teams were working to clear the rubble and recover the bodies of those killed and injured.

The Israeli forces stepped up strikes in southern Lebanon early Saturday, with warplanes carrying out a series of airstrikes on the outskirts of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa.

In Bint Jbeil and several nearby villages, Israeli forces demolished a number of houses in the town and fired heavy machine guns toward homes along the Kounine-Saf al-Hawa road.

The escalation comes amid continued Israeli violations and attacks in southern Lebanon despite the framework agreement brokered by the United States between Lebanon and Israel on June 26. (QNA)