Israel and Hezbollah indicated they were clashing deeper inside Lebanese territory. An escalation could undermine efforts to reach a cease-fire, as Iran’s leader signaled he supported ending the war with Israel.

Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows since launching its offensive in late September, escalating the conflict that had rumbled on in parallel to the Gaza war for a year. Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel and its fighters have been battling Israeli troops on the ground in the south.

A building in Beirut's southern suburbs collapsed in a gigantic cloud of smoke and dust, an AFP photographer reported, as two strikes attributed to Israel hit the Hezbollah bastion on Friday. Later in the morning,