There is “nothing more symbolic of victory” than the safe return of displaced residents to north Israel, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi told heads of local authorities during a meeting in the north.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab on Friday said that Israel is “obliged to resort to a diplomatic solution” with Lebanon and that “the atmosphere is suitable for that.”

Lebanese state media said the Israeli army on Friday detonated explosives planted inside houses in three border villages that have been battered by the Israel-Hezbollah war.

"Since this morning, the Israeli enemy's army has been carrying out bombing operations inside the villages of Yaroun, Aitaroun and Maroun al-Ras in the Bint Jbeil area, with the aim of destroying residential homes there," the official National News Agency said, the latest in a string of similar incidents that have impacted the flashpoint border area.

Hezbollah said its fighters launched missiles at an air base in central Israel on Friday, the latest attack by the Iran-backed group in more than a month of war.

Hezbollah said it "targeted the Tel Nof Air Base, south of Tel Aviv... with a salvo of advanced missiles."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to keep working to end the Gaza and Lebanon wars in his time remaining before handing over to President-elect Donald Trump, the State Department said Thursday.

"We will continue to pursue an end to the war in Gaza, an end to the war in Lebanon, a surge of humanitarian assistance (to Gaza), and that is our duty to pursue those policies right up until noon on January 20 when the president-elect takes office," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Dozens of Lebanese were laid to rest Thursday following an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment building in the town of Barja, just north of the port city of Sidon.

The Lebanese Civil Defense said they pulled at least 30 bodies and remains following late Tuesday's strike.

More than 100 Lebanese lawmakers issued an appeal on Thursday to the United Nations, demanding the preservation of heritage sites in areas heavily bombed by Israel during its war with Hezbollah.

"During the devastating war on Lebanon, Israel has caused grave human rights violations and atrocities," said a letter addressed to UNESCO's chief, demanding "the protection of Lebanon's historic sites in Baalbek, Tyre, Sidon, and other invaluable landmarks currently at risk due to the escalation of the atrocities."

There is an “understanding” between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that they “will work to end the wars” in the Middle East, a person familiar with Israel’s thinking told the Financial Times.

Israel is drawing up plans to expand its ground offensive in southern Lebanon alongside the diplomatic efforts, Israel’s top general said, as its warplanes intensified their air campaign against targets in Lebanon.

Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israeli army, said that “alongside the political attempt to reach understandings in Lebanon,” the Israeli army “must continue to formulate plans to continue the fighting in Lebanon, including expanding and deepening the ground maneuver.”

Lebanon's health ministry said three people were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike that targeted a car at the main entrance to the southern city of Sidon.

"The Israeli enemy's raid on a car in Sidon resulted in the deaths of three people," the ministry said in a statement.