An israeli drone targeted Thursday a motorbike in the southern border town of Aitaroun, as Israel ramped up in past weeks its targeting of Hezbollah fighters and allied militants in cars and on motorbikes in south Lebanon.

The Israeli army had carried out airstrikes overnight on the southern towns of al-Odaisseh, the Tyre District town of Wadi Jilo, and the outskirts of Siddiqin and Adshit, while artillery shelled al-Abbasieh, al-Wazzani and the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab.

The Israeli army “does not want to go to war in the north” against Hezbollah, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decried on Wednesday.

Asked whether the Israeli army is preventing a war in Lebanon, Smotrich replied: “We need to ask the IDF (Israeli army) hard questions and challenge it, not leave a blank check for commanders who tell us they are ready for a campaign in two theaters and at the moment of truth they fold.”

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati for his part denied receiving “warnings that the Israeli enemy might wage a large-scale attack on Lebanon.”

“Mr. Prime Minister stresses that these leaks and reports are baseless and are part of the pressures that are being exerted on Lebanon,” his press office said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the northern Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona on Wednesday, emphasizing Israel's readiness to take “decisive” action against threats from Lebanon.

Netanyahu also visited an observation point in the settlement, where he was briefed on the recent fires sparked by Hezbollah attacks and the firefighting efforts.

The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon and the Samir Kassir Foundation have announced the results of the 19th edition of the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press, in a ceremony held at the Sursock Palace Gardens, in Beirut.

This Award, established and funded by the European Union, is recognized internationally as a flagship prize for press freedom and the most prestigious journalism award in the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf region.

Hezbollah targeted Wednesday groups of soldiers in the Berkat Risha and the Malkia posts, after Israeli drones raided overnight the southern coastal town of al-Naqoura and the outskirts of al-Jebbayn, Aita al-Shaab and Ramia.

Hezbollah also said it had attacked soldiers in the Hanita forest Tuesday evening.

A Syrian was arrested after a shooting near the U.S. embassy in Beirut on Wednesday, the Lebanese army said, with the embassy saying its staff were safe.

The embassy, in the northern suburb of Awkar, "was subjected to gunfire by a person holding Syrian nationality," the army said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

Mohammad Hammoud, in his late 70s, was at home with his wife in a south Lebanon border village when Israeli bombing hit. This time, the attack was different.

"Fire broke out in front of the house... there was a strange smell... we had trouble breathing," he told AFP by telephone from his village of Hula.

A global human rights group said that Israel has used white phosphorus incendiary shells on residential buildings in at least five towns and villages in conflict-hit southern Lebanon, possibly harming civilians and violating international law, in a report published Wednesday.

Human Rights Watch said in its report that there was no evidence of burn injuries due to white phosphorus in Lebanon, but that researchers had "heard accounts indicating possible respiratory damage."

Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi has toured fire-affected areas in Kiryat Shmona and said Israel "was approaching a point where a decision will have to be made".

Munitions fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah on Monday evening had ignited several blazes across northern Israel.