Lebanon and Israel are set to hold the first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group that has rocked the tiny Mediterranean country.

At least 11 people, including two children, were killed as Israeli invading forces demolished homes in southern Lebanon and issued evacuation diktats.

Israel carried out strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, hours after the United States and Iran reached a Pakistani-mediated two-week cease-fire.

Hezbollah, or Party of God in Arabic, was created in the 1980s during Israel's occupation of Lebanon in the Lebanese Civil War. From its beginning, the group has been financed, trained and armed by Iran, and the destruction of Israel remains one of its official goals.