Israel rejects US-backed Lebanon ceasefire proposal

Israel rejected proposals on Thursday for a ceasefire with Hezbollah, defying calls from allies including the United States for a halt in fighting.

Israeli warplanes bombarded Lebanon, including a strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut that shook the capital. On its own side of the border, the Israeli army staged an exercise simulating a ground invasion.

The relentless pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, including intense airstrikes and assassinations of some of its senior commanders, raised concern that of a wider war spreading across the region.

The military, which has vowed to secure Israel's northern border and return thousands of Israeli citizens to communities there, said the exercise of its 7th brigade took place a few kilometres from the Lebanese border.