Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he has instructed ministers to begin peace negotiations with Lebanon "as soon as possible", hours after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of swathes of southern Beirut ahead of a new wave of airstrikes .
"In light of Lebanon's repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible," Netanyahu said in a statement. "The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon."
Israel is refusing to pause its ongoing bombardment of the country during any potential talks, with one official saying negotiations will take place "under fire".
The discussions would be led by Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, the official told an Israeli journalist.
There was no immediate response from the Lebanese government or Hezbollah to Netanyahu's remarks.
Direct talks would be an unprecedented step for the two countries, which have never had formal diplomatic relations in Israel's 78-year history.
A recent push by Lebanese officials for negotiations was rejected by Israel, which has demanded the government forcibly disarm Hezbollah as a precondition for peace talks.
An hour before Netanyahu’s statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that direct negotiations with Israel were the "only solution" to the country's predicament.
This comes a day after Israeli warplanes killed more than 200 people across Lebanon in what was the heaviest bombardment yet during its six-week war with Hezbollah.
Israel escalated its attacks across Lebanon on 2 March after Hezbollah renewed cross-border fire in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Israeli strikes have since killed around 1,700 people and uprooted more than a million people, according to Lebanese authorities.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military ordered hundreds of thousands of people living in Beirut's southern suburbs to flee ahead of a new wave of attacks.
At least 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed, according to sources familiar with the group, which has fired hundreds of rockets and drones into Israel.
Netanyahu's offer came as Iran stepped up threats to end the two-week ceasefire in response to Israel's assault on Lebanon.
Israel and the US have insisted that Tuesday's agreement with Iran did not include Lebanon, despite lead mediator Pakistan declaring that the ceasefire would cover the entire region.