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.

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.

Diplomatic efforts to halt hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reached a fever pitch on Wednesday, with reports suggesting a potential ceasefire could be announced as early as tonight.

Information Minister Paul Morcos told Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath channel that the collaborative efforts of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have "started to materialize."