JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon yesterday struck roads and houses, many believed to be the deserted homes of Hezbollah activists, in the apple-growing region of Iqlim al-Tuffah. The strikes caused casualties, but fighting kept ambulances and civil defense crews from the areas, security officials and witnesses said.

Other strikes hit a Lebanese army base in the north, while artillery and warplanes pounded the area near the border, according to witnesses. However, the fierce ground battles that raged Wednesday through the border villages of Bint Jbeil and Maroun al-Ras appeared to have abated, with U.N. observers reporting only “sporadic fighting” there.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the strategic damage to Hezbollah was “enormous” and vowed that the group would “not return to what it was.”

Thousands of civilians are believed trapped in southern Lebanon, according to humanitarian officials.

An International Red Cross spokesman, Hisham Hassan, said its teams that have visited border villages under heavy bombardment have found families hiding in schools, mosques, and churches, or huddled together in homes they hope will withstand the barrage.

“But even the residents we speak to can’t say how many are there, because everyone’s hiding, they don’t know who’s dead or alive,” he said.