Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Israel's top priority was to secure the "dismantling" of Hezbollah in its first direct talks with Lebanon in decades.

"In the negotiations with Lebanon, there are two central objectives: first, the dismantling of Hezbollah; second, a sustainable peace... achieved through strength," he said.

Israel hailed on Wednesday the opening of direct talks with Beirut as a "historic opportunity" that could end Hezbollah's "stranglehold" on Lebanon.

"This is indeed a genuine historic opportunity to end decades of Hezbollah stranglehold over Lebanon," Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told a press briefing, while insisting there was "no ceasefire discussion" with the Iran-backed group.

Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes on the country's south killed at least three paramedics on Wednesday, as the Israeli army announced it had attacked 200 Hezbollah targets over 24 hours.

Hezbollah meanwhile claimed attacks on northern Israel and on invading Israeli troops, a day after Lebanese and Israeli officials agreed to hold direct negotiations.

Israel's military chief of staff on Wednesday said he had ordered areas south of Lebanon's Litani River to be turned into a Hezbollah "kill zone" as troops pressed a major offensive there.

"I have ordered that all of the area of south Lebanon up to the Litani (River) line be turned into a Hezbollah terrorist kill zone," chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on a visit to troops operating in the area.

U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated peace talks with Tehran could resume this week, as the United States turned the screws Wednesday with a naval blockade it said had cut off maritime trade with Iran.

Trump's hint came as Israel and Lebanon agreed to open direct negotiations after a rare face-to-face meeting in Washington, with Israel's war with Hezbollah ongoing despite the ceasefire with Tehran.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that China has agreed not to send weapons to its close partner Iran and that he has received personal assurances from leader Xi Jinping.

Iran's foreign ministry said Wednesday that Tehran's right to enrich uranium was "indisputable" although the level of enrichment is "negotiable".

In a weekly press briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy could not be "taken away under pressure or through war".

An international media association on Wednesday accused the Israeli military of discrediting a Lebanese journalist it killed last month by circulating an AI‑generated image of him in Hezbollah fatigues.

Three Lebanese journalists, including Ali Shoeib -- a prominent correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar channel -- were killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on March 28.

Iran said Wednesday that exchanges with the United States via Pakistan had continued following failed negotiations over the weekend.

"Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

Senior UAE and Iranian officials held a call to discuss de-escalation on Wednesday, UAE state media reported, the first high-level call since ties deteriorated over the U.S.-Iran war.