BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said Saturday a "more hopeful" future awaits Lebanon after meeting its new leaders in a two-day visit ahead of a deadline for implementing a fragile Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

His visit comes amid fresh optimism for crisis-hit Lebanon after a devastating war, as Joseph Aoun was elected president on January 9 and named Nawaf Salam as prime minister-designate following a two-year vacuum.

"Throughout my time here, I have sensed an atmosphere of opportunity," Guterres told reporters in Beirut after meeting Aoun, Salam and Hezbollah ally parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

"After one of the most difficult years in generations, Lebanon is on the cusp of a more hopeful future."

On Friday, the UN secretary-general met in Beirut with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said Paris would soon host an aid conference to help rebuild Lebanon.

The United Nations "will intensify our support for recovery and reconstruction across Lebanon", Guterres said.

"The cessation of hostilities is fragile, but it is holding."

- 'Testing our patience' -

Under the November 27 ceasefire deal, which ended two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside peacekeepers from the UNIFIL mission in south Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws.

At the same time, Hezbollah is required to pull its forces north of the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the south.

Aoun said Israel must withdraw from his country's south by the January 26 "deadline set by the agreement reached on November 27" to fully implement the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

"Israel's continued violations on land and in the air... blowing up homes and destroying border villages, completely contradicts what was stated in the ceasefire agreement," a statement from his office said.

His remarks follow a speech by Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem who accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations, warning it against testing "our patience" and calling on the Lebanese state to be "firm" in its response.

Earlier on Saturday, Qassem had called "on the Lebanese state to be firm in confronting violations, now numbering more than hundreds. This cannot continue".

"We have been patient with the violations to give a chance to the Lebanese state responsible for this agreement, along with the international sponsors, but I call on you not to test our patience," he said in a televised speech.

- 'Occupation' -

Aoun, Lebanon's former army chief, has vowed to ensure the state will have "a monopoly" on bearing weapons.

Analysts say Hezbollah's weakening in the war with Israel allowed Lebanon's deeply divided political class to elect Aoun and to back him in appointing Salam, who was presiding judge at the International Criminal Court, as prime minister.

But Qassem insisted Hezbollah and ally Amal's backing "is what led to the election of the president by consensus", after around two years of deadlock.

"No one can exploit the results of the aggression in domestic politics," he warned. "No one can exclude us from effective and influential political participation in the country."

On Friday, Guterres had called for Israel to end its military operations and "occupation" in the south.

He also said UN peacekeepers had found more than 100 weapons caches belonging "to Hezbollah or other armed groups".

Also on Friday, Macron said there must be "accelerated" implementation of the ceasefire.