By Maya Gebeily BEIRUT, March 13 (Reuters) - Israel has rebuffed a historic offer of direct talks from Lebanon, deeming it too little too late from a government that shares its goal of disarming Hezbollah but cannot act against the heavily armed Lebanese group without risking a civil war.

Israel destroyed a bridge in southern Lebanon ⁠on ⁠Friday, dropped leaflets in Beirut threatening Gaza-scale devastation and ⁠warned of more attacks on the country's infrastructure, as Hezbollah's leadership remained defiant.

The war is expanding into Lebanon, as an Israeli offensive to dismantle Hezbollah has displaced 800,000 people there, with more than 680 people killed.

By Emma Farge GENEVA, March 13 (Reuters) - Over an eighth of Lebanon's territory is under Israeli orders for people to leave their homes, an aid group said on Friday, while the United Nations peacekeeping mission said Israeli ground troops were making incursions and erecting roadblocks.

The Lebanese parliament has extended its term by two years due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed the region into an escalating conflict, and Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon.

A week before he armed himself with a rifle and rammed a vehicle into a synagogue outside Detroit, Lebanese-born Ayman Mohammad Ghazali learned that four family members had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in his native country,

Israel’s military has bombed central Beirut, killing at least 12 people and sending black smoke billowing into the sky over Lebanon’s capital. The Israeli strikes on Thursday targeted the Bachoura neighborhood close to downtown Beirut.

Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over parts of the Lebanese capital on Friday carrying messages urging citizens to push for the disarmament of Hezbollah, dpa reporters and residents witnessed.