Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon are driving thousands of families to flee again, and some longtime Hezbollah supporters are now openly blaming the group.

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Reuters) - Hezbollah said on Monday its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in eastern Lebanon during an Israeli airborne raid overnight, in what would be the second such operation in the area in recent days,

In a remarkable statement Monday afternoon, Lebanon called for direct talks with Israel on “permanent arrangements for security and stability on our borders,” while accusing the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah of betraying the country.

As war comes to Lebanon's south once again, Christians and other minorities — most of them no fans of Hezbollah — increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs.

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on central Beirut's seafront killed at least seven people early on Thursday, another attack in the heart of the capital as Iran-backed Hezbollah launched more missiles at Israel.

As Israel intensifies its campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, Lebanon is now teetering on the brink of being fully sucked into the escalating US and Israeli war on Iran – a fate the fragile Lebanese government has been desperate to avoid.

The country is waiting to see if the government seizes on this moment to disarm the Iranian-backed armed group and how the militants will respond.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday accused Hezbollah of working to "collapse" the state and expressed Beirut's readiness for "direct negotiations" with Israel, drawing the backing of his Syrian counterpart for his goal of disarming the Iran-backed group.

Israeli strike hits Hezbollah-aligned media building in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an evacuation warning.

As Israeli strikes rained down, the number of people registered as displaced rose by 100,000 between Monday and Tuesday, according to figures released by the government.