Israel is sending troops into villages farther from its border, in what some former senior security officials worry could turn into a war of attrition.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has deepened in recent days despite diplomatic efforts to move toward a temporary truce.

An Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under, among at least six people killed in airstrikes in the war-ravaged territory, Palestinian medics said. In Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building south of Beirut on Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 15, the Health Ministry said.