The Israeli military carried out two strikes against a key bridge in the south of Lebanon on Thursday, destroying it, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

"Enemy aircraft carried out two consecutive strikes on the Qasmieh bridge, the last bridge between the Tyre and Sidon regions, completely destroying it," the NNA said.

Israeli troops were trying to advance from the occupied Shebaa farms into Debbine in south Lebanon after violent strikes and artillery shelling on the southern town.

The Israeli army also targeted Thursday Hebbarieh and Kfarshouba, while Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several drone and rocket attacks targeting soldiers in Khiam, Taybeh, Odaiseh, Bint Jbeil, Naqoura, Aitaroun, Bayada, Rob Tlatine and Qantara in south Lebanon and troops and military posts in north Israel including Ras al-Naqoura, Kfar Giladi, Nahariya, Carmiel, Peqi'in, Kiryat Shmona, Misgav Am, Hanita, Kfar Yuval and Margaliot.

Lebanon said Thursday it is "not aware" of any upcoming contact with Israel, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the leaders of Lebanon and Israel would speak on Thursday.

In Lebanon, those negotiations have drawn backlash from Hezbollah and its supporters. Al Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper that is closely allied with Hezbollah, declared the government to be a "regime of shame" in its front-page report about Tuesday's talks in Washington.

The Israeli military killed four Lebanese rescue workers and wounded six others in three consecutive, targeted strikes Wednesday, paramedic groups said, a stark illustration of the human cost of the Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon a day after Lebanon and Israel held historic talks in Washington.

The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted.

A U.S. official says President Donald Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as part of a broader peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon but has not specifically asked for one.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Trump administration’s position during closed-door talks between Israel and Lebanon, said an Israel-Hezbollah truce is not part of peace negotiations the U.S. is having with Iran.

Lebanon is "not aware" of any upcoming contact with Israel, an official source told AFP, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the leaders of leaders of Lebanon and Israel would speak on Thursday.

"We are not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side, and we have not been informed of any through official channels," the source said.

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.

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry has filed an official complaint with the U.N. Security Council over Israel’s intense barrage on the country last week that it says killed over 300 people and wounded 1,150 others.

In less than 10 minutes last Wednesday, Israel struck 100 targets across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon without warning during rush hour, marking one of the deadliest single bombing campaigns in the country’s history. The ministry said in its letter on Wednesday that the majority of casualties were unarmed civilians.

Lebanese were divided on Wednesday over their government’s decision to pursue rare, direct negotiations with Israel in hopes of ending the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Some forced to flee their homes and communities in southern Lebanon say they believe Israel’s ground invasion can only be stopped through military force, not diplomacy.

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.