BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/BEIRUT - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that there could be no stability in the Middle East while Lebanon is in flames, adding that restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is of "paramount importance."

As peace talks between the United States and Iran concluded in Islamabad without an agreement, regional mediators are racing to secure a second round of negotiations within days to prevent the collapse of the two-week ceasefire, the Wall Street Journal reported.

However, Israel expanded its ground offensive in Lebanon on Monday, a day before Israeli and Lebanese officials are due to begin direct talks in Washington.

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Speaking after a meeting of the European Commission's College of Commissioners, von der Leyen said the European Union (EU) is concerned that continuous strikes on Lebanon could derail the entire process, and called on all parties to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and implement a complete cessation of hostilities.

She said the crisis has brought an enormous economic impact on the EU, with the bloc's bill for fossil fuels imports rising by over 22 billion euros (about $25.72 billion) since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.

She warned that even if hostilities ceased immediately, disruptions to energy supplies from the Gulf would persist for some time to come.

Israel-Lebanon talks

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host a meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday, US online media outlet Axios reported.

The meeting, which will be the highest-level direct engagement between Israel and Lebanon since 1993, is expected to focus on the possibility of a ceasefire, the longer-term disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah, and prospects for a peace deal between the two countries, the report said.

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"Israel is at war with Hezbollah, not Lebanon, so there is no reason the two neighbors should not be talking," a State Department official was quoted as saying.

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, US State Department Counselor Michael Needham, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, and Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Nada Hamadeh Moawad will attend the meeting, the report said.

Israel and Lebanon laid out different expectations on Monday ahead of their upcoming talks in Washington, with Israel insisting on Hezbollah's disarmament and a peace agreement, and Lebanon voicing hope for direct negotiations and a ceasefire, according to reports.

Fierce fighting between Hezbollah, IDF

Fierce fighting continued Monday between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in the border city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.

The agency reported fierce, close-quarter combat for a fifth day, as Israeli forces encircled the city under air cover. Hezbollah fighters confronted the advance, causing casualties.

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Hezbollah employed mobile defenses, striking troops and supply lines, notably near the municipal stadium and al-Baraka neighborhood, as Israeli warplanes and artillery carried out heavy bombardment.

Separately, Israeli bulldozers entered the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon and began demolishing homes and parts of the town.

The Lebanese Public Health Ministry said Monday that the cumulative death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon since March 2 has reached 2,089, with 6,762 others wounded.

Also on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said it struck 150 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours and intercepted more than 10 drones launched by the Lebanese group. 

Some of the drones were also directed at Israeli troops engaged in a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, it said, adding that the Air Force continued to "remove threats" in southern Lebanon and further degrade Hezbollah's capabilities. 

Hezbollah said it launched new missiles at Israeli forces on Monday afternoon. Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom said a woman in her 60s was lightly wounded by shattered glass in northern Israel following a rocket attack from Lebanon.