A month into Israel's war against Hezbollah, invading Israeli troops are gradually advancing in south Lebanon, raising fears for the area's fate following the last Israeli occupation that lasted nearly two decades.

Since war erupted last month, Israeli officials have said Israel intends to establish a "security zone" inside Lebanon.

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY, April 2 (Reuters) - Pope Leo last May became the first U.S. leader of the global Catholic Church, but for the initial 10 months of his tenure he mostly avoided comment about his home country and never once mentioned President Donald Trump publicly.

That era has come to an end.

In recent weeks the pope has emerged as a sharp critic of the Iran war. He named Trump, for the first time publicly, on Tuesday in a direct appeal urging the president to end the expanding conflict.

PARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - A man and three minors have been put in pre-trial detention as part of investigations into a foiled March bomb attack on the Bank of America's Paris office, authorities said - a plot that officials say may be linked to a pro-Iranian group.

The explosive device was the most powerful of its kind discovered in France and "could have generated ... a powerful fireball several metres in diameter and spread a fire," the anti-terrorism prosecutor said late on Wednesday.

PARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it would be unrealistic to launch a military operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S. President Donald Trump challenged U.S. allies to work towards reopening it.

"Some people defend the idea of freeing the Strait of Hormuz by force via a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States, although it has varied," Macron told reporters during a trip to South Korea.

By Andrew MacAskill and Muvija M

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Britain will host talks on Thursday aimed at forming a coalition of countries to explore ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. President Donald Trump said securing the vital waterway was a problem for other nations to resolve.

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

- More ships pass Hormuz -

A French-owned and a Japanese-owned vessel are among a handful of ships to have transited the war-torn Strait of Hormuz, maritime tracking data showed Friday.

The passage, a vital route for oil and liquified natural gas, has been virtually blocked by Tehran since US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered conflict throughout the Middle East.

Both ships made the crossing on Thursday, according to tracking company Marine Traffic.

In rugged terrain along the Syrian-Lebanese border, yellow bulldozers raised earthen berms in front of armoured vehicles while soldiers combed through tunnels they said were used by Hezbollah, as Syria reinforces its side of the border.

Syria is seeking to stay out of the regional war, whose flames have reached neighbouring Lebanon, where Hezbollah is fighting a fierce conflict with Israel.

MOSCOW, April 2 (Reuters) - Russia is ready to contribute to resolving the Iran conflict and President Vladimir Putin is continuing to talk with regional leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"The president is continuing these contacts, and if our services are somehow required, we are, of course, ready to make our contribution to ensuring that the military situation transitions to a peaceful course as soon as possible," Peskov told reporters.

Iranian authorities Thursday executed a teenager convicted over January protests after a fast-track trial rights groups labelled as "grossly unfair", as the Islamic republic ramps up executions during the war with the US and Israel.

Amir Hossein Hatami, 18, was sentenced to death in February along with six others by a Tehran revolutionary court and was hanged at dawn in the notorious Ghezel Hesar prison outside the capital, according to Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.

MOSCOW, April 2 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Thursday for talks that will focus on the Iran war and the wider Middle East, as well as bilateral relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov Writing by Maxim RodionovEditing by Mark Trevelyan)