Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that he had ordered the military to prepare for expanding operations in Lebanon.

"The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for expanding IDF operations in Lebanon and for restoring quiet and security to the northern communities," Katz was quoted as saying in a statement.

After narrowly escaping death in her border village, Myriam Nohra is among the people in south Lebanon imploring the army for protection from the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

In Christian-majority Qlayaa, which overlooks a vast green plain separating Lebanon and Israel, hundreds of people buried their parish priest Father Pierre Rai on Wednesday, two days after he was killed by Israeli shelling while inspecting the site of an attack.

Hezbollah said it launched missiles at an Israeli military intelligence base in the suburbs of Tel Aviv early on Thursday, the Iran-backed group's latest claim in a major operation against Israel it announced hours earlier.

Hezbollah fighters "targeted the Glilot base (the headquarters of the 8200 Military Intelligence Unit)... in the Tel Aviv suburbs with a barrage of advance missiles," the group said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for Israel to halt its ground offensive in Lebanon and on Hezbollah to "immediately" stop attacks.

"Hezbollah made a major mistake in dragging Lebanon into a confrontation with Israel. It must immediately cease its attack," Macron posted on X.

An Israeli strike on central Beirut's seafront killed twelve people early on Thursday, Lebanon's health ministry said, another attack in the heart of the capital, as Hezbollah launched more missiles at Israel.

The Israeli military said separately it had carried out strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs overnight as Hezbollah announced a major new operation against Israel.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that it had launched a new wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets in the southern Beirut suburbs, vowing to act with "great force" in the area.

The military said it had begun a "large-scale wave of strikes" on Hezbollah infrastructure in Dahiyeh, the Lebanese capital's southern suburb, where the Iran-backed group holds sway.

Senior U.N. officials and member states called Wednesday for an end to fighting in Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting for the past ten days.

U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called this “a moment of grave peril for Lebanon and for the region,” as the conflict disrupts markets, supply chains and aid operations.

The European Union has given Lebanon 100 million euros ($115 million) in humanitarian support, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday in a call with President Joseph Aoun.

U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday commented on the situation in Lebanon amid the current hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

"We're working on it very hard. We love Lebanon. We love the people of Lebanon and we're working very hard. We've gotta get rid of ... Hezbollah has been a disaster for many years," said Trump in response to a question from MTV's reporter in Washington.