Lebanese were divided on Wednesday over their government’s decision to pursue rare, direct negotiations with Israel in hopes of ending the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Some forced to flee their homes and communities in southern Lebanon say they believe Israel’s ground invasion can only be stopped through military force, not diplomacy.

Israel hailed on Wednesday the opening of direct talks with Beirut as a "historic opportunity" that could end Hezbollah's "stranglehold" on Lebanon.

"This is indeed a genuine historic opportunity to end decades of Hezbollah stranglehold over Lebanon," Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told a press briefing, while insisting there was "no ceasefire discussion" with the Iran-backed group.

Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes on the country's south killed at least three paramedics on Wednesday, as the Israeli army announced it had attacked 200 Hezbollah targets over 24 hours.

Hezbollah meanwhile claimed attacks on northern Israel and on invading Israeli troops, a day after Lebanese and Israeli officials agreed to hold direct negotiations.

Israel's military chief of staff on Wednesday said he had ordered areas south of Lebanon's Litani River to be turned into a Hezbollah "kill zone" as troops pressed a major offensive there.

"I have ordered that all of the area of south Lebanon up to the Litani (River) line be turned into a Hezbollah terrorist kill zone," chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on a visit to troops operating in the area.

Diplomatic efforts to halt hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reached a fever pitch on Wednesday, with reports suggesting a potential ceasefire could be announced as early as tonight.

Information Minister Paul Morcos told Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath channel that the collaborative efforts of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have "started to materialize."

A routine convoy transporting military and civilian peacekeepers, along with essential contractors, from Beirut to UNIFIL headquarters was halted by Israeli troops a few kilometers from its destination in Naqoura.

U.N.-marked vehicles were eventually allowed to proceed; however, local contractors were required to return to Beirut under security arrangements, despite the convoy having been fully deconflicted in advance, including their presence, UNIFIL said in a statement.

President Joseph Aoun is satisfied with the Israeli-Lebanese meeting that was held Tuesday in Washington, sources said.

An international media association on Wednesday accused the Israeli military of discrediting a Lebanese journalist it killed last month by circulating an AI‑generated image of him in Hezbollah fatigues.

Three Lebanese journalists, including Ali Shoeib -- a prominent correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar channel -- were killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on March 28.

United Nations refugee chief Barham Salih on Wednesday called on the international community to provide urgent support to Lebanon, with a fifth of the country's population displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war.

"I call upon the international community to provide urgent support and relief to Lebanon," he said after meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Eighteen months after the nation's largest Arab American community helped propel Donald Trump to a second term as president, the prayers have not stopped.

In Dearborn, just outside of Detroit, families wait restlessly for word from relatives abroad, hoping they are safe, and mourning those already lost.