Meetings have not stopped at the diplomatic and intelligence levels and there are ideas that the Americans are working on with Qatar and Egypt that will be presented to Israel and Hezbollah, an Arab diplomat told LBCI television.

Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that he will continue to separate the presidency file from the confrontations in the south, as he again called for “dialogue.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday called on Speaker Nabih Berri to schedule parliamentary sessions aimed at discussing the current Israel-Hezbollah escalation and electing a new president for the country.

An Israeli security official said on Friday that any ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon would be carried out as swiftly as possible.

"We will try to do it as short as we can," the official told journalists, speaking anonymously in line with security rules.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “lying to everyone.”

In 2006, after a bruising monthlong war between Israel and Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted for a resolution to end the conflict and pave the way for lasting security along the border.

But while there was relative calm for nearly two decades, Resolution 1701's terms were never fully enforced.

The UK is providing £5 million to UNICEF in Lebanon to support humanitarian response efforts and enable UNICEF to distribute supplies to those in need, the British embassy said on Friday.

France opposes Lebanon "becoming a new Gaza," French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to Canada, citing the "absolutely shocking" number of civilian casualties.

"Israel must stop its strikes and Hezbollah must stop its retaliating," Macron told a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday.

Israel and Hezbollah each have strong incentives to heed international calls for a cease-fire that could avert all-out war — but that doesn't mean they will.

Hezbollah is reeling after a sophisticated attack on personal devices killed and wounded hundreds of its members. Israeli airstrikes have killed two top commanders in Beirut in less than a week, and warplanes have pounded large parts of Lebanon, killing over 600 people.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Thursday night that "Israel shares the aims" of the U.S.-led initiative for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon.