Israeli fighter jets overnight hit what the Israeli army said were Hezbollah military sites "containing weapons and launchers, which pose a direct threat to the Israeli home front."

Lebanese media reported that Israeli aircraft had targeted sites near the town of Yater. Warplanes were also seen flying over southern Lebanese villages and towns.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said "we continue to urge Israel and Lebanon to honor their commitments to the cessation of hostilities understanding."

"Continued progress in Lebanese Armed Forces redeployment and Israeli Defense Force withdrawal is crucial," Haq said, adding that "the parties must avoid any action that could raise tensions, endanger civilians and further delay their return to their towns and villages on both sides."

Lebanon on Friday marks 20 years since former prime minister Rafik Hariri's assassination amid seismic political changes that have weakened Hezbollah and its backers and could herald a comeback for Hariri's son Saad.

Rafik Hariri, a towering political figure, had resigned as premier when a suicide bombing targeted his convoy in Beirut, killing him and 21 others on February 14, 2005.

Hezbollah supporters blocked the Beirut airport road and burned tires on Thursday to protest a decision barring two Iranian planes from landing in the Lebanese capital, state media and an airport official said.

"Young men set tires on fire in front of the airport entrance, raising banners supporting Hezbollah's former Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," said Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday that Lebanon rejected Israel's demand to remain in five locations in the south after the deadline for fully implementing a ceasefire deal next week.

The United States, a key mediator, "informed me that the Israeli occupation will withdraw from villages it still occupies on February 18, but it will remain in five points," Hezbollah ally Berri said.

Speaker Nabih Berri “does not trust all the promises that are being made by the Americans” regarding the Israeli army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon by the Feb. 18 deadline, his visitors said.

President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that he is continuing his contacts to compel Israel to withdraw its forces from south Lebanon by the February 18 deadline.

Israel is still pressing to win U.S. approval for retaining five strategic hills in south Lebanon that it deems as strategic for the security of its settlements, something that Lebanon has categorically rejected, media reports said.

A Hezbollah delegation led by MP Mohammad Raad on Thursday handed President Joseph Aoun an invitation to attend the funerals of slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Sayyed Hashem Safieddine.

Israel will hold onto five strategic high points just inside Lebanon after next Tuesday’s ceasefire deadline requiring it to withdraw all troops, a top Israeli government official told U.S. news outlet Bloomberg.