A French initiative was proposed overnight after which communication took place between Baabda and Ain el-Tineh, Al-Jadeed TV reported on Friday.

An Israeli strike on an office building in the southern city of Sidon killed five people and wounded seven, the Lebanese health ministry said Friday, as Israel presses attacks on Lebanon's south, east, and in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The strike targeted the tenth floor of an office building near two shelters for displaced people and a Lebanese Red Cross center, an AFP photographer said.

Fresh Israeli strikes on Friday battered Lebanon, where Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned "a humanitarian disaster is looming" due to mass displacement.

An Israeli strike on an office building in the southern city of Sidon killed five people and wounded seven, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel presses attacks on Lebanon's south, east, and in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The Israeli military on Friday said it had started a new "wave of strikes" on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a day after it ordered the evacuation of the area, home to hundreds of thousands of people, before launching a series of raids.

"The IDF is now striking Hezbollah infrastructure in the Dahieh area in Beirut," the military said.

Israel launched overnight into Friday air strikes on several towns in southern Lebanon.

"Enemy warplanes launched nighttime strikes on the towns of Srifa, Aita al-Shaab, Touline, Sawana and Majdal Selm," the National News Agency reported.

High-level diplomatic contacts are underway between Lebanese officials and influential countries in an attempt to contain the escalation and avert a widespread attack on Beirut's southern suburbs, An-Nahar newspaper reported late on Thursday.

According to the information, the efforts have intensified in recent hours amid growing fears of expanded strikes, and diplomatic activity aims to prevent a further deterioration of the situation on the ground.

Israel launched a series of strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut Thursday after ordering all residents of the densely populated area to evacuate.

Israel's military chief said Thursday he had ordered troops to expand the area under Israeli control in southern Lebanon, as the country's ongoing operation against Hezbollah intensified.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday "everything" must be done to prevent Lebanon "from once again being drawn into war", urging both Israel and Hezbollah to halt military operations.

The Lebanese health ministry said on Thursday that the death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon has risen to 102 since the country was drawn into regional war earlier this week.

The ministry added that 638 people have also been wounded since Monday, adding that the tolls were likely to increase as hospitals receive more victims.