The UNIFIL peacekeeping mission has said the latest wave of Israeli strikes on south Lebanon "undermines the progress being made toward a political and diplomatic solution".

Israeli jets had struck several towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday after urging residents to leave, marking an escalation in their near-daily strikes on the country.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Friday that only the state has the war and peace decision, a day after Hezbollah said it has the right to defend itself against Israel.

Salam said the government is working on monopolizing weapons and ending Israeli attacks and occupation. "There are no more empty promises, but rather practical steps," he vowed.

A senior Israeli military official has warned that Israel would attack targets in Beirut if the Lebanese army fails to disarm Hezbollah.

"If the Lebanese army does not disarm Hezbollah and fails to meet the demands of the ceasefire, Israel, with U.S. backing, will attack Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including in Beirut," the official told Israeli Channel 12, hours after Israel struck a series of targets in southern Lebanon.

President Joseph Aoun has denounced Thursday's attacks on south Lebanon as a "fully-fledged crime", accusing Israel of rejecting Beirut's overtures towards diplomacy.

The Lebanese military said Israel was preventing the full implementation of a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, which hours earlier had publicly asserted its right to defend itself and rejected the prospect of direct political talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Lebanese authorities lifted a travel ban and reduced bail for the son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi paving the way for his release, judicial officials and one of his lawyers said Thursday.

The decision by the country's judicial authorities came days after a Libyan delegation visited Lebanon and made progress in talks for the release of Hannibal Gadhafi.

Iran strongly condemned on Friday what it called "savage" Israeli attacks on Lebanon after Israel struck several areas in south Lebanon a day earlier.

In a statement, the Iranian foreign ministry urged "the United Nations, the international community and regional countries to confront the warmongering" of Israel while offering "condolences on the martyrdom of Lebanese citizens during the savage attacks".

The Lebanese army said Thursday that Israeli strikes on the country's south aimed to prevent the completion of its deployment there in line with last year's ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"The Israeli enemy launched a wide-scale attack in the south, targeting several areas and towns. These condemned attacks are a continuation of the enemy's destructive approach, which aims to undermine Lebanon's stability... and prevent the completion of the army's deployment in accordance with the cessation of hostilities agreement," the army said in a statement.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members accused of involvement in financial transactions for Hezbollah, as Israel launched new strikes.

The sanctions were announced ahead of a visit to Lebanon by John Hurley, the Treasury Department official in charge of sanctions against extremist groups.

Cabinet met Thursday in Beirut to follow up on a plan to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups in the country drafted by the Lebanese military.

Army chief Gen. Rudolph Haikal briefed the government for the second time on its plan to disarm Hezbollah, while Israel carried out airstrikes in south Lebanon.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will visit Lebanon next week to discuss the latest developments with President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper said.

The daily claimed that the visit comes amid Israeli pressure on the U.S. to stop supporting the Lebanese government that, according to Israel, is not serious in implementing Hezbollah's disarmament plan.