Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his government to begin direct talks with Lebanon, he said in a statement on Thursday.
Netanyahu said the talks would focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese political and militant group, and establishing peaceful relations.
A US State Department official confirmed it would host a meeting next week "to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon".
Lebanese officials called for a ceasefire before the talks begin, but Netanyahu in a subsequent address to residents of northern Israel said: "There is no ceasefire in Lebanon."
The Israeli military continued to strike Lebanon on Thursday - targeting what it described as Hezbollah rocket launch sites in the south. It also issued a new evacuation warning for residents in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut.
