CAIRO (Reuters) - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem congratulated Palestinians on Saturday over the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying in a speech that it proved the "persistence of resistance" against Israel. The remarks were the first in public by the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday.

France’s president began a visit to Lebanon Friday, where he will meet the crisis-hit country’s newly elected leaders, as the nation attempts to recover from the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war

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

Qatar’s foreign ministry said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday. The ceasefire will pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release

Israel has warned on Sunday that its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah could collapse if the Iran-backed group does not withdraw beyond the Litani River, one of the key stipulations of the truce.

President-elect Donald Trump's influence over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the defining factor in reaching a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The negotiations that led to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement took months and months. At the center of the talks representing the United States was Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.

With the January 26 deadline for Lebanon’s fragile ceasefire fast approaching, Israel and Hezbollah must withdraw from southern Lebanon to avoid renewed hostilities. As communities clean up from the last war,

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah.

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

After months of deadlock, Israel and the militant group Hamas reached a fresh Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement.