The US State Department has confirmed that senior US officials are travelling to Israel to seek progress on deals to end the Gaza and Lebanon conflicts, AFP reports.

Amos Hochstein, the US point man on Israel-Lebanon tensions, and Brett McGurk, the top White House official on the Middle East, will lead the talks with Israel.

The two “are travelling to Israel to engage on issues including a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, as well as how we get to an end to the conflict in Gaza”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“We do ultimately want to see a ceasefire,” Miller said.

“We want to see a diplomatic resolution that allows civilians both in Lebanon and Israel return to their homes,” he said.

Miller said that the US was pressing Israel to avoid “widespread damage” in Lebanon after it issued evacuation orders for the historic city of Baalbek.

“We have made clear that the campaign they’re conducting in Lebanon should not, cannot, must not look like the campaign that they have conducted in Gaza.”