At least 15 people were killed in Damascus, according to Syrian state media. The Israeli military said it had “inflicted significant damage” to a Palestinian Islamic Jihad command center.

Israeli officials are insisting on maintaining a capacity to strike Lebanon at any moment as part of conditions to secure a ceasefire with Iran-backed Hezbollah, France's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Both villages are in the Mount Lebanon region and outside areas where the armed group Hezbollah has a strong presence. The Israeli military said it was looking into the strikes, which came after it hit what it said were a number of Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs.