Israeli hostages have begun to come home from captivity in Gaza, and Netanyahu's good friend, Donald Trump, is back in the White House. But Netanyahu may have little time to enjoy his improving fortunes.

Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Monday as set out in the deal.

Israel's delay in implementing a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah is causing tensions. Despite positive movements by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers, Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon is not progressing quickly enough.

But frustration over Israel's attacks is growing amongst the group's leadership. Ghaleb Abu Zeinab, a senior Hezbollah official, said on Wednesday that “Monday will be a different day” if Israeli forces refuse to leave Lebanon, a sign that patience may be running out.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem congratulated Palestinians on Saturday over the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying in a speech that it proved the "persistence of resistance" against Israel. The remarks were the first in public by the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza reduces the risks to Israel's public finances and could improve its sovereign credit rating, the major credit rating agencies said on Tuesday.

Negotiations have been taking place on extending the January 27 deadline to ensure the conflict isn’t resumed.

Israel and the Lebanese militant group agreed in November to an American- and French-mediated ceasefire, ending more than a year of fighting

A senior Republican congressional staffer accused presidential envoy Steve Witkoff of "lifting pressure on Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran."

Lebanon’s parliament elected a new president on January 9 after a two-year political deadlock and 12 failed attempts. Joseph Aoun met the threshold for victory in the second round of voting after his rival, a Hezbollah-backed candidate called Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew from the race.