An Israeli strike hit a road linking Syria and Lebanon Thursday as Israel tries to cut off supply routes of Hezbollah, a war monitor said.

Israel has increased it strikes on Syria since it upped its air raids on what it says are targets of Hezbollah in Lebanon more than two weeks ago, notably killing the leader of the Lebanese group.

Israel’s ground invasion in Lebanon stretched into its second week, as Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets deep into Israel — with no end in sight to the escalating conflict.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon -- mostly in airstrikes -- and over a million displaced since the fighting intensified in mid-September. At least 15 Israeli soldiers and two civilians have been killed since the ground operation began, and more than 60,000 people have been displaced from towns along the border for more than a year.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered government agencies to prepare to evacuate Filipinos “by whatever means” from Lebanon.

Marcos held a virtual meeting with key Cabinet members while attending a summit of Southeast Asia leaders in Laos, underscoring the urgency as Israel intensified attacks against Lebanon.

The top U.N. official in Lebanon has repeated her call for an immediate ceasefire, saying the 21-day cease-fire proposal launched by the U.S. and France is still on the table “and very relevant.”

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that a halt to fighting is the only way to ease “the colossal human suffering that is happening right now,” address Lebanon’s “humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions” and provide a window “for diplomatic efforts to take hold and succeed.”

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday emphasized "the need for a diplomatic arrangement to safely return both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line," during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.

"The President affirmed Israel’s right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the White House added.

Lebanon's state civil defense body said an Israeli strike on Wednesday killed five of its personnel in the country's south, with the health ministry condemning the latest deadly strike on rescue workers.

The Lebanese Army said Wednesday it had arrested two Syrians on suspicion of having been recruited to work for Israel, as its military bombs Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

The United States warned Israel Wednesday against any Gaza-like military action in Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened it with "destruction" like that in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli army on Wednesday said its forces killed a Hezbollah figure inside Syria, as the military continues to target the group's positions and fighters.

Hezbollah told the Lebanese authorities it accepted a ceasefire with Israel the day an Israeli strike killed its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a government source told AFP on Wednesday.

Previously, the group had said it would only accept a truce if there was also one in Gaza.