Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant briefed U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on ground operations the army launched inside south Lebanon targeting Hezbollah positions, his office said on Tuesday.

"The minister discussed the localized and targeted raids that the IDF (Israeli army) launched overnight, against Hezbollah terror targets in the border area of southern Lebanon," said the statement from the defense ministry.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, on Tuesday called for a United Nations air bridge for aid deliveries for almost a million people displaced by Israeli strikes.

Berri called on the United Nations to establish an "air bridge to ensure the delivery of relief supplies", a statement issued by his office said, also urging the International and Lebanese Red Cross to "carry out their duties in delivering relief and medical supplies to south Lebanon".

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday that “a de-escalation at regional level is urgent and necessary.”

“The protection of civilians remains the priority along with guaranteeing the security of the Italian military contingent of UNIFIL present in southern Lebanon," she said in a statement.

A British government-chartered flight is due to leave Beirut on Wednesday to bring United Kingdom nationals out of Lebanon.

The government says U.K. nationals, their spouse or partner, and children under the age of 18 are eligible, and priority will be given to the most vulnerable.

Turkey condemned the Israeli ground forces’ incursion into southern Lebanon on Tuesday, labeling it an “unlawful invasion attempt” and demanding an immediate cessation of the offensive and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry warned that the incursion jeopardizes the security and stability of countries in and out of the region, heightening the risk of a new wave of migration and the resurgence of extremist groups. The statement said countries that provide political support and arms to Israel would also be affected.

An Israeli military official said that marching to Beirut, as Israeli forces did during their 1982 invasion of Lebanon, is "not on the table," after Israel warned nearly two dozen Lebanese border communities to evacuate, hours after launching what it said was a limited ground incursion against Hezbollah.

In 1982, the Israeli invasion was also pitched as a limited incursion to push the Palestine Liberation Organization back but Israel only withdrew fully from Lebanon in 2000.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Tuesday there was "no ground incursion" going on in the south of the country after Israel said it was carrying out limited raids there.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP there was "no ground incursion right now", after Israel's military said it began "limited, localized and targeted raids" against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army on Tuesday called on the residents of 29 towns in south Lebanon to evacuate to the area north of the Awali River, as it launched what it called a “limited” ground incursion.

It identified the towns as Yaroun, Ain Ebel, Maroun al-Ras, al-Tiri, Hadatha, Aita al-Jabal, Jmeijmeh, Toulin, Deir Aames, Burj Qalaway, al-Bayada, Zebqin, Jbal al-Botm, Srebbine, al-Shaitiyeh, al-Knaysseh, al-Hinniyeh, Maarakeh, al- Ghandouriyeh, Deir Qanoun Malkiyat al-Sahel, Burj al-Shamali, Ebel al-Saqi, Srifa, Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, al-Abbasiyeh, al-Rashidiyeh, Bint Jbeil and Aitaroun.

A diplomatic source told LBCI television that joint French and Qatari efforts, supported by the U.S., are underway to de-escalate tensions, starting with the election of a president.

Hezbollah on Tuesday said it fired salvos of a new kind of medium-range missile, called the Fadi 4, at the headquarters of two Israeli intelligence agencies near Tel Aviv.

The Iran-backed group "launched salvoes of Fadi 4 rockets at the Glilot base of the military intelligence's unit 8200 and the Mossad headquarters located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv," it said in a statement.