He appeared to be urging it to press the militant group, a close ally of Iran, to agree to a deal that could require it to pull back from the Israel-Lebanon border.

A top Iranian official has pledged his country's unwavering support for Lebanon after talks with Lebanese leaders on the Israel-Hezbollah war.

The World Bank estimated that about $8.5 billion worth of damages and losses have piled up from the year-long war in Lebanon, which had already been struggling with a devastating economic crisis.

The World Bank said on Thursday the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has caused $8.5 billion in damage and losses to Lebanon, with final figures expected to be significantly higher as the conflict continues.

Crisis-ridden Lebanon has suffered physical damages and economic losses estimated at $8.5 billion during more than a year of Hezbollah-Israel clashes turned into a war, with housing the hardest hit, the World Bank says.

More than a year of clashes that recently escalated into war have cost Lebanon more than $5 billion in economic losses, with actual structural damage amounting to billions more, the World Bank said on Thursday.

The World Bank says the Israel-Hezbollah war has cost Lebanon $8.5 billion in physical damages and economic losses. Housing has borne the brunt of the destruction with nearly 100,000 units damaged.

The World Bank has estimated that the war in Lebanon has so far caused economic losses of almost $5.1 billion for the country. In addition, the losses for property damage so far amount to around $3.4 billion,