Israel’s defence minister told the United States that prospects for a halt in fighting with Hezbollah militants along the Lebanon border were dimming, his office said, AFP reports.

Yoav Gallant told his ally, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in a call that “the possibility for an agreed framework in the northern arena is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas”, an Israeli defence ministry statement said.

The Israeli defence ministry statement said Gallant “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the removal of Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon, and to enabling the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes.”