DUBAI - Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, head of Dubai conglomerate Al Habtoor Group, said on Tuesday he had cancelled all planned investments in Lebanon due to continuing instability.

In a post on X, he said he would sell all his properties and investments in Lebanon.

He also said that neither he, nor his family members or group managers, would be travelling to Lebanon.

"These decisions were not made lightly, but rather are the result of careful study and in-depth monitoring of the situation there," he said.

The Al Habtoor group is a multi-billion-dollar global conglomerate with interests ranging from luxury hotels to shopping malls. As of January last year, the group's investments in Lebanon amounted to about $1 billion.

Last week, Al Habtoor had expressed an intention to invest in Lebanon once a new government was formed.

The U.S. said on Sunday that the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel will be extended until Feb. 18. The extension follows Israel's decision to keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline set out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted last year's war with Hezbollah.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Alex Richardson and Sharon Singleton)