President Joseph Aoun expressed hope that direct talks on Tuesday in Washington with Israel would lead to an end of the country's suffering after war erupted again between Israel and Hezbollah last month.

"I hope that the meeting in Washington... will mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people in general, and those in the south in particular," Aoun said in a statement, adding that "stability will not return to the south if Israel continues to occupy its lands."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Tuesday for Israel and Lebanon to seize a "historic opportunity" for peace as the first direct talks in decades between the two sides got underway in Washington.

The Israeli military warned Tuesday it expected a rise in attacks by Hezbollah targeting Israel's north, as Washington hosted Israeli and Lebanese officials for their first direct talks in decades.

Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including the UK, Tuesday urged Israel and Lebanon to "seize this opportunity" in a statement ahead of U.S.-mediated talks between the two sides in Washington.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday she was suspending Italy's defense agreement with Israel, which involves the exchange of military equipment and technology research, news agencies reported.

"In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel," Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

Israel's military said Monday that a massive wave of strikes in Lebanon last week killed five Hezbollah commanders, as well as more than 250 of the group's fighters.

The Lebanese health ministry has said Wednesday's attacks killed more than 350 people in total and wounded more than 1,200.

Israel summoned Italy's ambassador Monday to protest after Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned Israel's "unacceptable attacks" on civilians in Lebanon during a visit to Beirut, an Italian diplomatic source said.

Tajani, a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, visited Beirut on Monday for talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he supports direct peace talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, which are set to start Tuesday in Washington.

Merz called for an end to hostilities in southern Lebanon and said militant group Hezbollah must lay down its arms, the German chancellery said in a statement Monday night.

From his small shop in Beirut, facing a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike, Qassem Saad said he was exhausted by repeated Israeli wars on Lebanon, and hoped negotiations could end decades of suffering.

"We know that Israel will remain an enemy to us, but we are tired," 49-year-old Saad, who suffered a minor injury in the strike, told AFP.

Lebanese and Israeli representatives are scheduled to meet in Washington Tuesday for U.S.-mediated talks on ending the war in Lebanon, but the prospects of an agreement appear slim.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem called for the talks to be scrapped before they even began, describing them as "futile."