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.

The head of Lebanon's largest Christian party said Iran-backed Hezbollah should relinquish its weapons as quickly as possible to end its year-long war with Israel and spare Lebanon further death and destruction.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that an unconditional cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel is "the first priority," calling for intensifying international and Arab efforts to prevent a large-scale war.