In southern Lebanon, Israel said its forces reached the Litani River, a significant marker in the war. Israel has demanded Hezbollah pull its forces back north of the river.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will consider the deal later today, marking a significant breakthrough in the Middle Eastern conflict

An Israeli airstrike hit 20 sites in southern Lebanon and central Beirut. The strikes preceded talks on a US-mediated ceasefire with Hezbollah, with optimism expressed by officials ahead of a vote by Israel's security cabinet.

Israeli warplanes struck central Beirut and the city's southern suburbs on Tuesday, raising smoke over the Lebanese capital ahead of a planned vote by Israel's leadership on whether to accept a U.S.-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending more than a year of fighting with Hezbollah militants.

Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including 20 who died after a strike flattened a multi-story residential building in central Beirut overnight, according to Lebanese officials.

The development comes after Netanyahu met last week in Israel with U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and discussed a possible cease-fire in Lebanon. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss a cease-deal between Hezbollah and Israel.

Israeli forces pounded southern Lebanon and the outskirts of the capital Beirut on Friday, killing at least five medics, and ground troops clashed with Hezbollah fighters in the south.