JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Oct 10 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike killed five emergency workers in southern Lebanon, the health ministry said on Thursday, as Israel pressed its major offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah and warned Lebanese civilians in the south not to return home.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said contacts were under way between the United States and France with the aim of reviving a ceasefire, an apparent reference to diplomatic efforts to clinch a truce which Israel rejected last month. There was no immediate comment from Washington or Paris.