Lebanon's economy minister has said that the country was turning the page to growth after years of crisis but called for greater reforms.

Lebanon expects five percent growth this year, the highest since 2011, Economy Minister Amer Bisat said Thursday as he attended fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

A series of violent Israeli airstrikes targeted south Lebanon on Thursday afternoon and evening, killing one person and wounding seven others, with media reports describing them as among the fiercest since the November ceasefire.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday the bloc had no choice but to build up its anti-drone defenses against Russia, as Brussels unveiled a "roadmap" to prepare for potential conflict by 2030.

Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza on Thursday, bringing the total number handed over to 120, the Hamas-run health ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said.

Under a ceasefire deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.

Greece's parliament on Thursday passed a controversial reform that would allow 13-hour work days under exceptional circumstances.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was "determined" to secure the return  of the remains of all hostages still held in Gaza, vowing that the "fight is not over yet".

"We are determined to secure the return of all hostages," Netanyahu said at a state ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery, marking the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war.

Violence at a youth-led protest in Peru's capital on Wednesday left one man dead and more than 100 people injured, authorities in the South American country said.

President Jose Jeri announced on X "the death of 32-year-old citizen Eduardo Ruiz Sanz," and the Ombudsman's Office said more than 100 people were injured, updating earlier tolls.

Israel said Thursday that the date for the opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt would be announced at a later stage, and that aid would not pass through the gateway.

"The date for the opening of the Rafah Crossing for the movement of people only will be announced at a later stage, once the Israeli side, together with the Egyptian side, completes the necessary preparations for the crossing's opening," said a statement from COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.

An Israeli group campaigning for the return of all hostages held in Gaza on Thursday demanded that the government delay implementing the next stages of the truce if Hamas fails to return the remaining captives' bodies.

In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government to "immediately halt the implementation of any further stages of the agreement as long as Hamas continues to blatantly violate its obligations regarding the return of all hostages and the remains of the victims".

Talks scheduled on Friday between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. leader Donald Trump will focus on the possible delivery of American long-range Tomahawk missiles for Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian official has told AFP.

"The main topic of discussion is Tomahawks. Of course, there is also the issue of Patriots," the source said, referring to U.S. air defense batteries, adding that the Ukrainian leader would arrive in Washington on Thursday ahead of the talks.