Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday criticized both the Lebanese state led by President Joseph Aoun and PM Nawaf Salam, and his former ally Hezbollah.

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension, but the achievement of justice. This is a phrase coined by Martin Luther King Jr. and ignored by many, especially those who believe in imposing peace by force," Bassil said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the latest killing of a peacekeeper in southern Lebanon and demanded those responsible be brought to justice, his spokesman said Thursday.

The Swiss subsidiary of British bank HSBC has been charged in France as part of an embezzlement probe into former Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh, the financial crimes prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Despite living just 300 meters from the border wall separating Israel from Lebanon, Sigalit Levin has little enthusiasm for the new ceasefire deal meant to bring a lasting end to fighting with Hezbollah.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire that would require Hezbollah to stop firing, withdraw from near the border and would see Lebanon's army deploy in new "pilot zones" in the area.

The Iran-backed group has rejected the proposed arrangement, instead demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

The Israeli foreign ministry said Thursday that Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem's "rejection of the ceasefire" and "rocket interceptions over Kiryat Shmona" tell "the story: Hezbollah continues to attack Israel and destabilize the region."

"The Iranian proxy Hezbollah must be disarmed and its terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon must be dismantled according to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701," the ministry added, in an English-language post on X.

U.S. officials followed Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem's defiant remarks on Thursday and "we judge actions not words," U.S. sources told LBCI television.

"This agreement resembles a last chance and wasting it means that everyone will pay a heavy price," the sources said of the overnight ceasefire agreement that was reached between Lebanon and Israel.

The Israeli government announced on Thursday that negotiations with Lebanon in Washington had achieved what it described as an "unprecedented accomplishment," noting that they removed Hezbollah from the equation.

Israel's government added that the negotiations were still ongoing with the aim of reaching a "permanent ceasefire."

Drone alert sirens sounded in several border communities in northern Israel on Thursday shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials wrapped up a visit to the area, Israeli media reports said.

The Israeli military later said the sirens were triggered by attempts to intercept several drones that hit near soldiers in southern Lebanon. No injuries were reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said that France backed the ceasefire in Lebanon after the announcement of an agreement in Washington.

The French head of state told reporters on a visit to Montenegro: "We support the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel and everything that helps restore peace, combat terrorist activities, and fully establish Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity.