The reason the Israeli army has not carried out an attack in Beirut and its southern suburbs despite the latest escalation is an "American veto," unnamed sources told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday.

Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces in a town north of the Litani river on Wednesday, a day after Israel's military said it was expanding its ground operations in the country's south.

Israeli forces have begun operating beyond their so-called "Yellow Line" in south Lebanon, which runs around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory, a military official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.

The health ministry said Tuesday that an Israeli strike a day earlier killed at least 11 people, two of them children, as the Israeli military said it had launched strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure.

In a statement, the ministry said that "yesterday's Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child", adding that rescuers were still clearing the rubble in the eastern town.

Since a ceasefire was reached in April, the Lebanese capital of Beirut has been spared from strikes, except for one strike on its suburbs.

But Israel's latest moves have caused fear, urging residents of Dahieh to evacuate once again, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had authorized more intensive strikes targeting Hezbollah across Lebanon.

President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday greeted the Lebanese people in general, and Muslims in particular, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, wishing that this holiday would bring "peace, hope, and better days for Lebanon and its people."

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, Lebanon's most senior Sunni cleric, has thrown his support behind the Lebanese state and strongly criticized Hezbollah over the 2024 and 2026 wars with Israel.

A Lebanese military delegation, scheduled to travel to the United States to meet with an Israeli military delegation on May 29, will focus on consolidating the ceasefire in Lebanon so that the army can fulfill its duties.

A media report, published Tuesday in the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper, said the delegation will call for Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon and request the necessary equipment and technology to support the army's deployment in the south once the truce is secured.

On the centenary of the Lebanese constitution, Hezbollah stated that "the Lebanese people stand at a crucial juncture in a highly sensitive domestic and regional moment" that "necessitates, more than ever, adherence to the Lebanese constitution, as amended by the Taif Agreement, as the binding framework for regulating disputes among the Lebanese, managing their state's affairs, and preserving their unity and sovereignty."

The Israeli military warned residents of the southern city of Nabatiyeh to immediately evacuate on Tuesday ahead of expected strikes, despite a ceasefire.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or military equipment is putting their life at risk!" the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, posted on X.