Israel and Hezbollah ‌have agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, after talks between the US ⁠and ​Iran in Switzerland to implement a peace deal were abruptly called off.

The talks, aimed at negotiating a permanent understanding over Iran’s nuclear programme and getting oil traffic moving through the strait of Hormuz, had been due to begin in the Swiss village of Obbürgen.

But an escalation in fighting in Lebanon jeopardised the chances of an interim agreement on ending the war in Iran turning into a lasting Middle East peace deal.

It follows the second deadliest day of fighting since tensions between Lebanon and Israel rose in March.

Damage from an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese city of Tyre. Photo: AAP

Lebanon’s health ministry reported the Israeli military killed at least 47 people and wounded 97 others on Friday local time, across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.

Israel said the strikes were in response to Iranian backed Hezbollah killing four soldiers.

Two Lebanese security ‌sources said Israel had carried ‌out a dozen air strikes in the first hour ⁠of the ceasefire but none were recorded after 5pm.

Lebanon’s government says 3,980 people have been killed and 12,001 wounded in IDF attacks since 2 March.

The conflict in Lebanon could weigh on negotiations because ending fighting there is a condition for the broader ​US-Iran accord.

A ‌senior Hezbollah MP said Iran had told the group that talks with the United States could not continue without a comprehensive ceasefire.

Khadija Amara, a resident of Qlaileh, southern Lebanon, collects water as she sits amid the rubble of her house. Photo: AAP

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson did not mention the talks but said the United States bore direct responsibility for Israeli ​attacks on Lebanon and that Tehran would take all necessary measures to ​protect its interests.

US President Donald ⁠Trump told NBC News he had urged Israel to agree to the ceasefire.

“You just gotta calm down sometimes and use your head,” Trump ‌was quoted as saying.

Trump declined ​to specify ​whether ​he spoke ​with ‌Israeli prime minister ​Benjamin ​Netanyahu directly.

Former US President Barack Obama said he was “very happy” to see a ceasefire and “hopeful” that it will hold.

But he questioned the rationale for the war on Iran, noting the US has spent “billions of dollars” and “a lot of people have died”.

“It feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off,” he told NBC News.

-with AAP