Laila Bassam

Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel, two people with direct ‌knowledge of the transfer said, the first significant aid from the group to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.

Lebanon hopes for a new staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund, Finance ​Minister Yassine Jaber has said, adding that a full IMF program still required ‌Beirut to pass a final law to address losses from its financial crisis.

A ceasefire largely held in Lebanon on Monday as the country experienced the longest lull yet in three months of war between Hezbollah and ​Israel, even as fear of renewed hostilities kept displaced people from going home.

Hezbollah accused Israel of committing hundreds of ceasefire violations.

Fighting in southern Lebanon abated on Monday after the announcement of a U.S.-Iran deal to ​end the wider conflict, but local authorities warned displaced people not to rush home and Israel said it would not withdraw its troops ‌from the area.

The pro-Iran Hezbollah movement rejected a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Thursday and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the country, undermining U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to ​halt fighting there to forge peace with Tehran.

A ceasefire agreed between Iran and the United States in early April is very likely to end if Israeli attacks on Tehran-backed Hezbollah in ​Lebanon persist, Iranian state TV said on Monday, without providing further details.

The ongoing war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah is ​expected to shrink Lebanon's economy by at least 7% this year and could cost the country an estimated $20 billion, Finance ‌Minister Yassine Jaber told Reuters.

Twelve people were killed by a series of Israeli strikes on cars in Lebanon on Wednesday, the health ministry said, ‌as conflict between Hezbollah and Israel continued on the eve of a third round of U.S.-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Lebanon's president has urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to cease fire ​and stop home demolitions in south Lebanon, the presidency said on Monday, as the death toll from Israeli ‌attacks rose.