A U.S. State Department spokesperson has said that Hezbollah "bears sole responsibility for Israel's presence on Lebanese soil," following the latest deadly Israeli strikes in south Lebanon.

The office of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Hezbollah violated the ceasefire by attacking Israeli soldiers in the Ali al-Taher area in south Lebanon, seriously wounding three of them.

It said the Israeli military responded by striking the Hezbollah headquarters which allegedly ordered the attack, learning only later that Hezbollah “deliberately put civilians” in that military compound.

Speaker Nabih Berri noted Saturday that "the two massacres perpetrated by the Israeli occupation aircraft in the towns of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani, which resulted in the martyrdom of an entire family, mostly women and children, fall within the context of the ongoing genocidal war waged by the Israeli killing and destruction machine against the land, people, heritage, and everything connected to human life in the South."

President Joseph Aoun said deadly Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday were a "clear message" on negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, ahead of the next round of U.S.-sponsored talks early next month in Rome.

Aoun condemned the "ongoing Israeli attacks" on the south and "repeated violations of the framework agreement... and international law on protecting civilians, which led to the death of an entire family in the village of Ansar," according to a statement from his office, adding that "these violations are a clear message against the negotiation process and the U.S. efforts aimed at implementing this agreement."

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike in the country's south on Saturday killed seven people, including three children and two women, in the worst toll since deals in June saw a lull in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli artillery shelling sparked fires in the southern town of Bani Hayyan Friday while Israeli forces detonated houses in Markaba nearby.

Strikes targeted al-Mansouri and Majdalzoun and detonations were also registered in al-Mansouri, Beit Yahoun, Haddatha, and Kounine.

The United Kingdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lebanon’s Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and Ministry of Defense, reaffirming its “long-standing partnership with Lebanon’s security institutions.”

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and U.S. General Joseph Clearfield met Friday with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Visiting General Clearfield heads a coordination group involved with the U.S. sponsored June agreement. The framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in "pilot zones".

Defense Minister Michel Menassa met Thursday at his office in Yarze with Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal, who led a delegation comprising members of the Military Council and senior officers of the Army Command.

Israeli news portal Walla on Thursday quoted Israeli and U.S. officials as saying that "there is no agreement between Lebanon and Israel on forming a body to oversee the Lebanese Army's operations in the designated pilot zones."