U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday to discuss the tensions between Israel and Lebanon following the deadly rocket strike on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

The State Department said Blinken in the call with Herzog “emphasized the importance of preventing escalation of the conflict and discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to allow citizens on both sides of the border between Israel and Lebanon to return home."

Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblat has blasted as “lies” Israel’s accusations that Hezbollah was behind the rocket that killed 12 youngsters in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

“Where did they bring these proofs and arguments from?” Jumblat added, in an interview on Al-Jazeera television.

Hezbollah launched Monday "dozens of Katyusha rockets" at an Israeli military site following the "assassination" of two of its fighters.

The pair were killed in an air raid on a road between Shaqra and the southern border town of Mays al-Jabal.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday vowed to "hit the enemy hard" after rocket fire -- which Israel said came from Hezbollah -- killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and again raised fears that the war in Gaza will spread.

The Israeli army said Saturday that it shot down a drone over the sea that had crossed from Lebanon, as Israeli media reports said the UAV, likely unarmed, was headed for the Karish offshore gas field.

The commander of the Israeli army’s northern command, Major General Uri Gordin, visited the Golani Brigade's combat squad this week, the Israeli army said on Friday.

"We are committed to changing the security situation here in the north," said Gordin, adding that "all the residents of Metula and all the residents of the north will be able to return to their homes.”

Hezbollah targeted Friday Ramia and Hadb Yaroun in north Israel and fired overnight anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli warplanes in south Lebanon forcing them to retreat beyond the border.

The group said it targeted technical equipment in the Ramia post and soldiers in the Hadb Yaroun post, in support of Gaza. It later targeted two posts in the occupied Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba Heights.

The Commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, met yesterday with heads of authorities at the Ramat David air base with the participation of other commanders from the Air Force and the Northern Command, the Israeli army said on Thursday.

"We are ready for war. The responsibility of the Air Force to implement all operational plans is full. And there will be a crushing punch as deadly as possible against an enemy we know and there will be surprises," the Israeli commander said.

The Israeli state media said Thursday that the Israeli army is prepared for a ground maneuver in Lebanon.

The army has informed the government that it has finalized preparations for a maneuver that would be preceded by powerful airstrikes, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said.

France is “fully committed to reaching a de-escalation” between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, its permanent representative to the U.N. said.

“France is extremely concerned by the deterioration of the situation along the Blue Line and remains fully committed to reaching a de-escalation, and promoting a diplomatic solution to avoid a full-fledged war,” the representative Nicolas de Rivière said ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting.