"We will be there to cooperate, to collaborate, to build a new Middle East," Israeli Consul General Ofir Akunis told Newsweek.

With airstrikes rocking Beirut and Israeli troops advancing against Hezbollah, Lebanon’s government has broken a taboo by proposing the first direct talks with Israel in decades. But Lebanese officials say they want the fighting to end first — and it might be too late for that.

Amid regular Israeli strikes, officials in Lebanon are working around the clock to keep the country's only international airport open.

IDF engaged in intense fighting with militants in at least three key areas in battle for control of border towns