Lebanon's prime minister on Saturday charged Israel with carrying out a scorched earth strategy in the southern areas, pressing for an end to the conflict while fresh airstrikes hit targets and evacuation notices reached more than a dozen communities.

Following Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that troops had moved deeper into Lebanon, Nawaf Salam described the situation as a perilous escalation and demanded an immediate genuine ceasefire.

During a televised speech Salam said Israel was enforcing a scorched earth approach together with collective punishment through the destruction of towns and villages and the displacement of their populations.

Such actions would deliver neither security nor stability to Israel he added.

On Sunday the Israeli military reported that its units were pushing forward in Lebanon to reinforce positions in the south during expanded ground operations against Iran backed Hezbollah.

A large contingent of IDF troops began offensive moves to extend the forward defense line with the effort now reaching additional zones the statement noted and confirmed crossings of the Litani river.

Reuters indicated that one Israeli soldier died in fighting in southern Lebanon while separate accounts described the capture of a key fortress possibly marking the farthest advance in 26 years.

Salam defended his administration's contacts with the neighboring state after military teams met in Washington on Friday for security discussions with further US mediated talks set for next week.

He noted that results from the negotiations remained uncertain yet described them as the option with the lowest cost for Lebanon and its citizens.

A ceasefire intended to stop clashes between Israel and Hezbollah backed by Tehran began on 17 April but has gone unheeded.

Each side accuses the other of breaking the truce and uses those claims to justify continued strikes.

A US statement following the Friday talks omitted any reference to the truce but described the military discussions as productive and said they would shape the political session next week.

Lebanon's state news agency reported multiple Israeli strikes in the south on Saturday and the Lebanese army stated that two soldiers suffered serious wounds from an Israeli drone near Nabatieh.

The Israeli military released new evacuation alerts for villages around Nabatieh and locations further east.

Hezbollah announced several strikes on northern Israel on Saturday along with direct clashes against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

The group stated it was engaging forces near Zawtar al Sharqiyah Yohmor al Shaqif and Dibbine claiming the troops had not yet gained control of those areas.

The Israeli military informed AFP that over 25 projectiles came from Lebanon on Saturday with air raid sirens activating in Karmiel and Safed for the first time since the truce according to Home Front Command.

Public broadcaster Kan showed footage of rockets landing in the sea near Nahariya prompting beach visitors to scatter.

Netanyahu stated on Friday that forces had moved past the Litani River roughly 30 km north of the border and were striking Hezbollah directly.

The Lebanese health ministry reports that Israeli strikes have caused more than 3 371 deaths since 2 March when Hezbollah entered the regional conflict in support of Iran.

Hezbollah said its actions against Israel responded to the death of Iran's supreme leader during US Israeli operations that began the war on 28 February.

Iran maintains that any deal to conclude the broader conflict must also address Lebanon.

With Agence France Presse and Reuters