Israeli strikes have killed two people and sparked wildfires in southern Lebanon, state media said, with Hezbollah announcing the death of two fighters.

Lebanese authorities have arrested 20 people after a shooting near the U.S. embassy in Beirut said to be in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, a judicial source told AFP.

Israeli leaders have increased their warnings to Hezbollah as cross-border violence escalates by the day, but experts believe that the risk of all-out war remains limited.

Several officials from the White House, the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department held contacts at the highest levels over the past few hours in a bid to prevent a major escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, a media report said.

The Progressive Socialist Party kicked off this week a series of meetings with the Lebanese political parties in a bid to break a knotty presidential impasse, few days after French special envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, left Beirut empty-handed.

In Maarab, a PSP delegation met with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and MPs Ghassan Hasbani and Nazih Matta, while Former minister Ghazi Aridi held meetings with Speaker Nabih Berri and Hussein Khalil, the political aide of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Biden administration has cautioned Israel in recent weeks against the notion of "a limited war" in Lebanon and warned it could push Iran to intervene, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official told U.S. news portal Axios.

The U.S. has indirectly asked Hezbollah to engage in the mediation efforts with Hamas in order to “reach an agreement that would stop the Gaza war and consequently the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah,” a media report said.

Hezbollah fired Thursday for the first time air defense missiles at Israeli warplanes that the group said were "breaking the sound barrier and terrorizing children."

Hezbollah said in a statement that its air defense missiles forced the warplanes to "retreat beyond the border."

Families of Israeli army reservists have faced both emotional strain and financial difficulty since October 7.

When the war started, donations poured in to support Israel's male and female reservists, who are considered a pillar of the army, and their families as their household incomes have shrunk.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to hostilities along the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, warning of the risk of a broader conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting the northern border area after eight months of war with Hamas that has devastated Gaza, warned Wednesday that Israel was "prepared for a very intense operation" along the border.