Trump says US Navy attacked and seized Iranian-flagged cargo ship

As Israeli strikes on Hezbollah continued on Thursday in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese president said a potential ceasefire would mark a "natural entry point" for direct negotiations between the two countries.

"Lebanon is keen to halt the escalation in the south and in all Lebanese regions so that the targeting of the innocent and the secure -- women, men, and children -- ceases, and the destruction of homes in Lebanese villages and towns stops," Joseph Aoun, the president, told a British minister, according to a statement from his office.

Auon said that only Lebanese authorities would lead potential talks, as he called for an Israeli withdrawal and for full state control over security.

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday said it was dismantling targets it described as "terror infrastructure sites" in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army also issued a new evacuation warning to residents of southern Lebanon south of the Zahrani River, calling on them to move north and telling them that any movement south could endanger their life.

Lebanon's ministry of health said in a statement on Thursday that the Israeli army targeted ambulance teams in Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon, three times on Wednesday, killing four paramedics. An IDF spokesperson said the military was looking into the alleged strikes.

Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, launched six rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel early on Thursday, with no casualties reported. Hezbollah's press office said in a statement that they had launched rockets targeting settlements in several areas in northern Israel.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Ghazi Balkiz

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to hold a press conference at 8 a.m. ET on Thursday, according to the Department of Defense.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced support for Iran and called for "maintaining the momentum of the ceasefire and negotiations."

Wang spoke on Wednesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to a readout posted by the Chinese ministry.

"Wang Yi stated that China, as always, supports Iran in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and national dignity," the readout said.

Wang's office said the minister also told Araghchi that "freedom of navigation and safety in the international strait should be guaranteed, and efforts to restore normal navigation in the strait are the unanimous call of the international community."

The U.S. this week began a blockade of the strait. "U.S. service members continue to monitor and patrol regional waters in support of the U.S. blockade on ships entering or exiting Iranian ports," U.S. Central Command said early on Thursday.

-ABC News’ Karson Yiu

In a post on his social media platform, President Donald Trump said the leaders of Israel and Lebanon would be speaking on Thursday, following high-level talks between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats mediated by the U.S. earlier this week. 

"Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon," Trump said in the post. "It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!"

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about who would be speaking from the Israeli and Lebanese sides.

Trump's announcement of additional talks between the two countries came after the State Department convened a trilateral meeting in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors.

The State Department on Tuesday called this week's talks "the first major high-level engagement between the governments of Israel and Lebanon since 1993."

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr