Yoav Gallant told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that “the possibility for an agreed framework in the northern arena is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas.”

“The trajectory is clear,” Gallant added, according to a statement released from his office on Monday.

Hezbollah and the Israeli occupation army have been trading fire on a near-daily basis since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza. Hezbollah says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. as Israel has threatened a wider operation, raising fears of another all-out war.

Hezbollah has said it will halt its attacks if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but months of talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have repeatedly stalled.

On Sunday, Israel dropped leaflets over a Lebanon border village ordering residents to leave, state-run media said, but Israel's military told AFP a brigade had taken the initiative without approval.

It was the first time Israelis had told residents of south Lebanon to evacuate in 11 months of cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel over its deadliest war on Gaza.

"The Israeli enemy dropped leaflets over Wazzani calling on those in the area and its surroundings to evacuate," the official National News Agency said, referring to a southern border village.

The cross-border violence since early October has killed 623 people in Lebanon, including at least 141 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, including in the occupied Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.