U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein is expected to present the draft ceasefire agreement to Lebanon within days, the Israel Hayom newspaper has reported.

A close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his aide Jared Kushner this week that Israel is rushing to advance a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the Washington Post quoted three current and former Israeli officials briefed on the meeting as saying.

Several Israeli airstrikes have targeted a city in western Syria near the border with Lebanon, Syrian state media said.

Israel's warplanes hit Wednesday bridges and military checkpoints in the area around al-Qusayr and led to the activation of air defenses, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor.

The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday condemned attacks in recent weeks on the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), calling on all parties to respect the safety of members of that force.

"They urged all parties to take all measures to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises. They recalled that peacekeepers must never be the target of an attack," the UNSC said in a statement, noting in particular attacks on October 29, November 7 and November 8.

Heavy air strikes hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital overnight into Thursday.

The Israeli army issued Thursday morning evacuation warnings for buildings in Choueifat's al-Amrousiyeh, Ghobeiri, Haret Hreik and Borj al-Brajneh following three rounds of overnight airstrikes.

The Israeli political-security cabinet will approve the U.S. initiative regarding Lebanon and the U.S. arrangements have reached the final stages of drafting, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday.

"Israel has alternative operational plans if Lebanon rejects the U.S. proposal," the report said.

Israel's new defense minister told senior commanders Wednesday that there would be no easing-up in the war against Hezbollah as he toured the northern border with Lebanon.

"We will make no ceasefires, we will not take our foot off the pedal, and we will not allow any arrangement that does not include the achievement of our war objectives," Defense Minister Israel Katz said. "We will continue to strike Hezbollah everywhere."

Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack targeting Israel's military headquarters and ministry of defense in the city of Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Lebanese militant group said it conducted an "aerial attack with a squadron of exploding drones" on the site housing Israel's main defense institutions in the commercial hub.

Despite the military escalation that Lebanon witnessed over the past hours, it seems that “signs of hope are looming on the horizon,” the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television reported on Wednesday.

Any settlement that “does not guarantee Lebanon's sovereignty” cannot be accepted, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said after meeting Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut.

“We are communicating with (U.S. Secretary of State Antony) Blinken and (U.S. mediator Amos) Hochstein to speed up the ceasefire in Lebanon,” Abdelatty added.