French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel on Friday to accelerate its troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, as a deadline nears for the pullout under the terms of a ceasefire that ended the war with Hezbollah last year.

French President Emmanuel Macron will fly to Lebanon on Friday for a one-day visit to show support for the country's new leadership and work towards preventing Hezbollah's rearmament, two months after France and the US brokered a ceasefire between the group and Israel,

France's President Emmanuel Macron was in Lebanon on Friday, where he was due to meet his newly-elected counterpart and offer support to leaders seeking to open a new chapter in their country's turbulent history.

New developments following the election of Western-backed Joseph Aoun as president perhaps offer hope for generating political momentum and restoring the international community's confidence in Lebanon.

French President Emmanuel Macron promised his Lebanese presidential counterpart Joseph Aoun that ‘France will remain by your side” as he pledged financial aid to help rebuild Lebanon while also

French President Emmanuel Macron is anticipated to arrive in Beirut this Friday. The visit comes amid ongoing political developments in Lebanon, including the recent appointment of Nawaf Salam as Prime Minister-designate and heightened discussions about the country's economic and political reforms.

French leader Emmanuel Macron is due to visit Lebanon on Friday, both countries said, in the second such trip by a head of state since Lebanon elected a president last week.

Lebanon’s new president has asked prominent diplomat and jurist Nawaf Salam to form the country’s new government after Salam was named prime minister by a large number of legislators

A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday as Hamas released the first three female hostages it held for 15 months of the devastating war. The ceasefire went into force at 11:15 a.m. local time after an almost three-hour delay.

The Israeli military also moved into dozens of new positions across southern Lebanon in the first 40 days of the ceasefire.

Germany's Lufthansa Group is set to resume flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel from Feb. 1 and Wizz Air restarted its London to Tel Aviv route on Thursday, the companies said following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.