Israel's defense minister said that Israeli forces had been ordered to prepare for an extended stay in the so-called security zone in southern Lebanon, after Israel and Lebanon agreed on a framework to end hostilities.

President Joseph Aoun told his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Saturday that the Lebanese state will assume responsibility for implementing a recent agreement reached with Israel, his office said.

Aoun "said the Lebanese state would assume its responsibilities in implementing the framework agreement and expressed hope that the United States would help prevent any violations of the deal and ensure that all commitments are fulfilled, notably by pressuring Israel to withdraw from the areas it occupies in southern Lebanon to facilitate the deployment of the Lebanese Army up to the international border," Aoun's office said in a statement.

Lebanon and Israel, under U.S. sponsorship, signed an agreement on Friday hoping to end hostilities between them, but experts say it does not guarantee Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and its implementation depends on Hezbollah and its backer Iran.

Lebanon took the historic step of negotiating directly with Israel despite them having no diplomatic relations, as a reaction to Tehran-backed Hezbollah drawing the country into the Middle East war on March 2.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday welcomed the U.S.-Israel-Lebanon framework agreement as a "critical step" away from conflict in the Middle East.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem condemned the U.S.-Israel-Lebanon framework agreement on Saturday, saying it is a major mistake by the government and that his group deems it null and void.

The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike on Saturday targeting suspected militants in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon, the first such attack since Washington announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday warned the Lebanese against being dragged into "sedition" in the wake of the Lebanon-Israel agreement.

The Israeli military said it killed seven Hezbollah militants who had operated near its so-called "security zone" in southern Lebanon on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would remain in south Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms, shortly after the announcement in Washington of a framework agreement with the United States and Lebanon.

President Joseph Aoun said a deal signed with Israel on Friday was a first step towards fully restoring Lebanon's sovereignty after the latest war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"The framework agreement signed today is a first step" that will enable Lebanese "to return to their fully liberated lands, and to their certainly rebuilt homes... under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state that has no partner in its sovereignty over its land and people," Aoun said according to a statement released by his office.