Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that Israel should withdraw from the occupied border areas in southern Lebanon, rejecting the extension of the cease-fire arrangements to Feb. 18.

Emirates is resuming its flight operations to Beirut and Baghdad from February 1, 2025 after a temporary suspension due to conflict in the area

The warning came a day after Israel said its forces would remain in south Lebanon beyond a Sunday deadline for their departure.

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate has vowed to rebuild the country following years of economic meltdown and a 14-month war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group

Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Lebanon, his first in more than four years, follows a 60-day ceasefire deal that aims to end the war.

Israeli officials have said Lebanese troops are not deploying fast enough in the areas Israeli troops are supposed to vacate.

They returned under a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, walking for hours to reach the bombed-out landscape.

For a second day, Lebanese were defying Israeli warnings and attempting to reach southern border towns that remained occupied by Israeli troops. At least two people were injured, officials said.

Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return on Monday to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas.