Hezbollah said that Israeli attacks on Lebanon would be met with an "appropriate" response after deadly strikes on the country's south on Saturday, urging authorities to halt "humiliating" negotiations with Israel.

Speaker Nabih Berri noted Saturday that "the two massacres perpetrated by the Israeli occupation aircraft in the towns of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani, which resulted in the martyrdom of an entire family, mostly women and children, fall within the context of the ongoing genocidal war waged by the Israeli killing and destruction machine against the land, people, heritage, and everything connected to human life in the South."

President Joseph Aoun said deadly Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday were a "clear message" on negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, ahead of the next round of U.S.-sponsored talks early next month in Rome.

Aoun condemned the "ongoing Israeli attacks" on the south and "repeated violations of the framework agreement... and international law on protecting civilians, which led to the death of an entire family in the village of Ansar," according to a statement from his office, adding that "these violations are a clear message against the negotiation process and the U.S. efforts aimed at implementing this agreement."

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said seven people including two women and three children killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday were not military targets, after Israel said it struck Hezbollah "infrastructure".

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has accused Lebanese authorities of subjecting the country's armed forces to undue pressure by implementing a framework deal agreed with Israel to end hostilities.

Hezbollah's complete surrender of the Ali al-Taher hills to the Lebanese Army is a prerequisite for fully implementing the Framework Agreement, said a political source familiar with Lebanese-U.S. discussions, including the recent visit of the head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, General Joseph Clearfield, to Beirut and his meetings with President Joseph Aoun and Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal.

Messages have reached relevant parties in Lebanon indicating that Israel is preparing to launch an offensive to occupy the Ali al-Taher hills and is on high alert, awaiting a signal from the United States, a senior security official said.

Israeli artillery shelling sparked fires in the southern town of Bani Hayyan Friday while Israeli forces detonated houses in Markaba nearby.

Strikes targeted al-Mansouri and Majdalzoun and detonations were also registered in al-Mansouri, Beit Yahoun, Haddatha, and Kounine.

The United Kingdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lebanon’s Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and Ministry of Defense, reaffirming its “long-standing partnership with Lebanon’s security institutions.”

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and U.S. General Joseph Clearfield met Friday with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Visiting General Clearfield heads a coordination group involved with the U.S. sponsored June agreement. The framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in "pilot zones".