President Joseph Aoun on Monday told visiting Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani that "Lebanon hopes that the upcoming meeting tomorrow in Washington between the ambassadors of Lebanon, the United States, and Israel will result in an agreement on a ceasefire in Lebanon, paving the way for direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel."

The Israeli military said on Monday its troops had completely surrounded a key town in southern Lebanon after killing more than 100 Hezbollah fighters there over the past week.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Sunday he was working to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, even as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in south Lebanon that the fight there was far from over.

The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement that one of its paramedics had been killed in the south.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces had eliminated the threat of an invasion by Hezbollah fighters during an alleged visit to troops in southern Lebanon.

His reported visit comes two days before officials from Lebanon, Israel and the United States are due to hold direct talks in Washington.

Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to the people of Lebanon on Sunday, saying there was a "moral obligation" to protect them while calling on warring parties to seek peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that any peace agreement reached with Lebanon must be one that "lasts for generations."

"Lebanon has approached us. In the past month, it has reached out several times to begin direct peace talks," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.

Lebanese authorities said on Saturday that Israeli strikes have killed 2,020 people since the start of the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah last month.

Lebanese official media reported extensive Israeli strikes across the country's south on Sunday as the health ministry said at least five people were killed and the war's overall toll rose to 2,055 dead.

Hezbollah denied on Sunday any link to a cell accused by Syrian authorities of planning an attack on a religious figure in Damascus, saying it conducts no activity in the country.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said on X that Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam "should know that ignoring the unique role of the resistance and the heroic Hezbollah will expose Lebanon to irreparable security risks."

"Lebanon's stability rests exclusively on cohesion between the government and the resistance," he said.