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.

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.

A Hezbollah official told AFP on Thursday that the group had informed Lebanese authorities that it rejects a ceasefire announced after Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington a day earlier.

The official said on condition of anonymity that the position, which was announced by Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem in a televised message, was passed on "to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri," a Hezbollah ally acting as an intermediary who "shares this position."

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Thursday that the army would begin deploying in "pilot zones" in the country's south, a day after Israel and Lebanon agreed in Washington to implement a ceasefire.

"The next step is practical and tangible: the deployment of the Lebanese army in pilot zones as a first phase," Salam said, according to remarks read out by Information Minister Paul Morcos after a cabinet meeting, adding that "this does not prejudice our right to a full (Israeli) withdrawal, but brings us closer to it."

The European Union signed off Thursday on a new 100-million-euro ($116 million) support package for the Lebanese Army, as it seeks to bolster the military amid a fragile ceasefire in the country.

"The latest ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon offers a chance to prevent a return to full-scale hostilities," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted online.

President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that an agreement on implementing a ceasefire announced in Washington after talks with Israel was the "last chance" to reach a comprehensive truce.

Envoys from Israel and Lebanon held a fourth round of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington on Wednesday, agreeing to implement a ceasefire hinged on Hezbollah halting its attacks.

The head of the Quds Force, the foreign arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards, said Thursday that Israel must pull back from its current front lines in Lebanon, where it is fighting Tehran's ally Hezbollah.

"Supporting the resistance in Lebanon is the duty of all of us, and removing Israel from the region is an attainable goal for Muslims," Esmail Qaani said in a post on a domestic social media platform. "The minimum demand of the resistance is the withdrawal of the usurping regime (Israel) to the position it held before the start of the 40-day war."

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Thursday that a peacekeeper was killed and two others wounded when shelling hit their base in the country's south the previous night.

"A UNIFIL peacekeeper died early this morning from critical injuries sustained when mortar shells struck his position," a statement from the force said, adding that an investigation had been launched.

Israel's defense minister said Thursday that a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon grants the military the "freedom" to strike Beirut if Hezbollah attacks Israeli communities, adding that operations in southern Lebanon would continue.

"The IDF will, at this stage, continue its fire and ground operations, remain in the security zone in Lebanon up to the Yellow Line -- including in the Beaufort area -- and without the return of the population, while continuing to dismantle terrorist infrastructure on the ground," Israel Katz said in a statement, as he hailed the ceasefire deal reached on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he wants to separate talks on the conflict in Lebanon and those on the war between the United States and Iran, although Tehran insists the conflicts are linked.

"I'd like to separate it, I'd like to have a separate thing, because it is, it is separate," Trump told reporters.