Business activity in the eurozone contracted for the first time in 16 months in April, as the war in the Middle East drove energy prices higher and disrupted global supply chains, a closely watched survey showed Thursday.

The Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) published by S&P Global, an important gauge of the overall health of the economy, registered a figure of 48.6 this month, down from 50.7 in March.

A senior Iranian parliament official said on Thursday that Tehran has received the first revenue from tolls it imposed on the strategic Strait of Hormuz in its war with the United States and Israel.

"The first revenue received from the Strait of Hormuz tolls was deposited into the Central Bank account," said deputy speaker of parliament Hamidreza Hajibabaei, according to Tasnim news agency.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran had halted alleged plans to execute eight women arrested over anti-government protests, after he urged Tehran to release them to help peace negotiations.

Lebanese town official Sharif Badreddine begged his youngest son not to leave to fight for Hezbollah against Israel in the country's south, but as the tearful father buried his child he could not hide a sense of pride.

In the face of a government push to disarm the group, its supporters call on a long-held enmity with Israel, deep religious beliefs and backing from Iran to justify their sons' sacrifice in the group's latest war that has killed thousands in Lebanon.

Israeli strikes killed three people in Lebanon on Wednesday, Lebanese state media said, despite an ongoing 10-day ceasefire, which an official said Beirut will request an extension for in the upcoming talks with Israel in Washington.

Ahead of the talks on Thursday, Israel called on the Lebanese government to "work together" with it against Hezbollah.

A second French soldier died on Wednesday from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush against U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon during its latest war with Hezbollah damaged or destroyed more than 62,000 housing units in the country, a government estimate found on Wednesday.

Lebanon will request a one-month extension of the ceasefire during its meeting with Israel in Washington on Thursday, a Lebanese official told AFP.

Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday urged Beirut to make joint efforts with Israel to counter the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, ahead of talks between the countries set to resume in Washington.

"Tomorrow the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington DC. I call on the government of Lebanon -- let's work together against the terror state that Hezbollah built in your territory," Gideon Saar said in a speech to diplomats at a function marking Israel's 78th Independence Day.

Hezbollah held a mass funeral in south Lebanon's Kfar Sir on Tuesday for more than a dozen fighters killed during more than six weeks of war with Israel.

The ceremony came after Israel and Lebanon entered into a 10-day ceasefire on Friday announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.