Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims Israeli forces had pushed Hezbollah back 5 to 8 miles (8km to 13km) from the Israeli-Lebanese border and destroyed about 94 per cent of its roughly 150,000 missiles and rockets, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu pointed to a new trilateral deal opening direct Israeli-Lebanese talks for the first time in decades, under which Israel is to withdraw from Lebanon as Lebanon disarms Hezbollah.

Whether the Lebanese army can hold that territory is “yet to be seen”, he said, although Israel is “willing to give it a try”.