Israeli and U.S. pressure on Lebanon's army to speedily disarm Hezbollah is intensifying, with the army chief cancelling a visit to Washington after officials snubbed him, a military official told AFP.

Lebanon's army has been beefing up its presence in south Lebanon near the Israeli border since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire last November sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.

The French Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the intensification of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and called for Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory.

"Israel must respect Syrian territory," the statement read.

Marina El Khawand was 18 when she saw her hometown of Beirut shattered by the giant 2020 port explosion and decided she needed to help.

Today, at 24, she is among five laureates at Thursday's Young Activists Summit awards at the U.N. in Geneva, and described how the trauma of that day spawned a movement that has helped provide free medication and consultation to thousands in need.

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday adopted a resolution that called on Iran to provide it with access and information regarding its nuclear program, as required under U.N. resolutions.

The resolution "urges Iran to comply fully and without delay with its legal obligations under... UNSC resolutions and to extend full and prompt cooperation to the IAEA, including by providing such information and access that the Agency requests," said the text, which was adopted by a vote of 19 for, three against and 12 abstentions.

Qatar, a key mediator in the Hamas-Israel war, on Thursday condemned fresh Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, saying they threatened to upend a fragile weeks-long truce.

Qatar condemned "brutal attacks by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip... and considers them a dangerous escalation that threatens to undermine the ceasefire agreement," its foreign ministry said in a statement.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israel launched fresh air strikes on the Palestinian territory early Thursday that killed three people.

The agency said there were "three martyrs and 15 wounded" after Israeli forces "bombed a residential building in the Bani Suheila area, east of Khan Younis", at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT), as Hamas and Israel accused each other of violating the fragile ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday Kyiv and Europe needed to be involved in any Ukraine peace plan, as the U.S. pushes a new proposal that appears to repeat Russia's demands.

"For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board," Kallas told reporters in Brussels.

A pair of Israeli strikes in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis early Thursday killed five people, according to hospital officials, bringing the death toll from airstrikes in the Palestinian territory over a roughly 12-hour period to 33. The strikes have been some of the deadliest since Oct. 10 when a U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into force.

The renewed escalation came after Israel said its soldiers had come under fire in Khan Younis on Wednesday. Israel said no soldiers were killed and responded with strikes.

The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah of violating the terms of a ceasefire by attempting to re-establish itself in southern Lebanon a short distance from Israel’s northern border.

"The Hezbollah terrorist organization has been working to rebuild its capabilities in the village of Beit Leef in southern Lebanon, in a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," Israel’s military said Wednesday in a statement.

Residents of Lebanon's Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp described their fear and astonishment a day after a deadly strike that Israel said targeted a Hamas compound, a claim the Palestinian militant group rejected.

Tuesday night's raid, which Lebanese authorities said killed 13 people, was the worst since a ceasefire took effect last year between Israel and Hezbollah.