President Aoun outlines a path towards "permanent security and stability", as Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah continue.

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Reuters) - Hezbollah said on Monday its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in eastern Lebanon during an Israeli airborne raid overnight, in what would be the second such operation in the area in recent days,

The Lebanese parliament has extended its term by two years due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed the region into an escalating conflict, and Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israel of illegally using white phosphorus in an attack on a residential area in southern Lebanon last week. In a report released on Monday, the organization said

In a remarkable statement Monday afternoon, Lebanon called for direct talks with Israel on “permanent arrangements for security and stability on our borders,” while accusing the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah of betraying the country.

Israel carried out a commando raid in eastern Lebanon to search for clues about a navigator who went missing 40 years ago.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, and uprooted 800,000 more, Lebanese authorities say.

Israel has rejected diplomatic overtures by Lebanon to halt its escalating offensive against the Hizbollah militant group, demanding that negotiations only take place “under fire”, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

By Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam and Maayan Lubell BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 7 (Reuters) - Israel warned Lebanon of a "disastrous" fallout if it did not rein in Iran-backed Hezbollah on Saturday, as it pounded the group's strongholds around the country with air strikes and mounted a deadly airborne raid in the east.

Iran accuses the US and Israel of targeting civilians, saying more than 1,300 have been killed across the country.