The Lebanese army said Sunday that it was escorting civilians into some southern Lebanese border towns and called on residents to follow military instructions to ensure their safety, as Israeli gunfire killed at least three of the returnees and wounded 44 others.

President Joseph Aoun said in a statement addressing the people of southern Lebanon on Sunday that “Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable" and that he is "following up on this issue at the highest levels to ensure your rights and dignity.”

"This is a day of victory for Lebanon and the Lebanese -- a victory of right, sovereignty and national unity. As I share you this great joy, I call on you to show restraint and trust the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are keen on protecting our sovereignty and security and securing your safe return to your homes and towns," Aoun said in a statement.

The Trump administration said it wants to give Israel a little more time to pull its troops out of Lebanon, just two days before a withdrawal deadline under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.

“A short, temporary ceasefire extension is urgently needed” in Lebanon, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement Friday. Israel was supposed to withdraw all its forces from southern Lebanon by Sunday. The 60-day ceasefire deal in late November halted the Israel-Hezbollah war.

The Lebanese Army on Saturday said it has been unable to deploy its forces throughout southern Lebanon as laid out in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war because of Israel’s “procrastination in withdrawal” from the area.

Under the deal reached in November, Israel is supposed to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by Sunday, after which the Lebanese armed forces would patrol the buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing a military presence there.

Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday. Israel was set to release 200 Palestinian detainees later in the day as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

As the four were released, hundreds of people cheered in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square where they were watching the drama unfold on a big screen television.

While Europe's military heavyweights have already said that meeting President Donald Trump's potential challenge to spend up to 5% of their economic output on security won't be easy, it would be an especially tall order for Spain.

The eurozone's fourth-largest economy, Spain ranked last in the 32-nation military alliance last year for the share of its GDP that it contributed to the military, estimated to be 1.28%. That's after NATO members pledged in 2014 to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense — a target that 23 countries were belatedly expected to meet last year amid concerns about the war in Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday said he wants the European Union to intervene in a gas dispute his country has with Ukraine, a potential sign of friction in the bloc's upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia.

Speaking on state radio, Orbán said that Ukraine's decision to cease transiting Russian gas into Central Europe through the Brotherhood pipeline had forced Hungary to turn to alternative routes, which raised energy prices.

The Kremlin insisted Friday that a settlement in Ukraine couldn't be facilitated by a drop in global oil prices as U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested.

Speaking by video from the White House to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said on Thursday that the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries shares responsibility for the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine because it has kept oil prices too high.

Thousands of anti-abortion activists are coming to Washington Friday for the annual March for Life, seeking to build momentum after a string of victories and maintain pressure on legislators. After decades of fighting to overturn Roe v. Wade, organizers are seeking to focus on the multiple state-by-state battles taking place over abortion rights.

Here's what to know about the 52nd March for Life:

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, struggling to stabilize his minority government, said Friday he will seek to maintain regional security and prepare for tough negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump to win his commitment to maintain a strong American presence in the Asia-Pacific.

Ishiba has been seeking to meet with Trump since his election victory in November and is arranging a trip to Washington in the coming weeks.