According to a brief statement from his office, the premier "ordered the IDF to forcefully attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon", after the military said the Iran-backed group had violated a ceasefire that was extended earlier this week.

Several hours earlier, in several separate statements, the military said it had "eliminated more than 15 terrorists in southern Lebanon", including three who were driving a vehicle "loaded with weapons".

It also accused the militants of "launching explosive drones toward IDF soldiers" in the Qantara area that "detonated" near the troops but caused no injuries.

Troops had also found "an anti-tank missile cache in a Hezbollah weapons storage facility" and an underground shaft containing Kalashnikov rifles, it said.