Israeli raids hit south Lebanon on Thursday as its military said it was striking Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, a day after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks in decades.

The head of an armed Palestinian faction that opposes Hamas in Gaza has been killed, Israeli media reported on Thursday, in what would be a blow to Israeli efforts to support Gazan clans against the Islamist movement.

The US president hopes that a peace deal will pave the way for greater American investment in the resource-rich region. 

​The US president hopes that a peace deal will pave the way for greater American investment in the resource-rich region.