The Israeli army has warned Lebanese citizens not to return to 60 villages in the south of the country, three days after the end of fighting after more than a year of fighting with the Shia group Hezbollah.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published a map shows a series of areas several kilometers deep, saying that residents must not return to them. It said that anyone who does so will be putting themselves at risk.
More than a million Lebanese have been displaced by the fighting, most of them from the south. Tens of thousands of Israelis have also been expelled.
The agreement came into force on Wednesday morning, although officials in Israel and Lebanon accuse each other of having already violated it.
On Thursday, the IDF said its troops fired machine guns and carried out airstrikes on targets in southern Lebanon. It added that it fired at the suspects after seeing what was happening at the Hezbollah weapons site, as well as vehicles pouring into many areas, which it said violated the ceasefire agreement.
Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the agreement “many times” and said it was monitoring the situation.
An international monitoring group consisting of representatives from the US, France, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was established as part of the ceasefire to monitor compliance with its terms.
In his first interview since the ceasefire was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the IDF to fight a “hard battle” if Hezbollah committed a “serious violation” of the ceasefire.
The ceasefire “could be short”, he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14.
Under the terms of the agreement, which was approved by the US and France, Israeli forces will withdraw from southern Lebanon as the Lebanese army deploys simultaneously with no other armed groups allowed to operate in the area. This is intended to happen within 60 days from the start of the ceasefire.
The IDF said that civilians should not return from Mansouri on the coast to Shebaa in the east.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese army warned citizens not to return to areas where Israeli forces were present before they withdrew.
Israel attacked southern Lebanon early last month after the IDF stepped up military operations against Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began the current conflict with Israel by firing rockets into and around northern Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza killed around 1,200 people.
Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israel responded to Hamas attacks with a major military operation in Gaza. The health ministry run by Hamas says that at least 44,330 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli occupation.
Since October 8, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire with increasing intensity. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Israeli strikes killed at least 3,961 people and injured 16,520 others during that time. The statistics do not distinguish between civilians and soldiers.
The Hezbollah attack has killed 31 soldiers and 45 civilians in Israel, Israeli authorities said. Another 45 Israeli soldiers were killed fighting in southern Lebanon.
In his first remarks since the agreement, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the group would work with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire.
Hezbollah, he said, has achieved a major victory – preventing Israel from destroying it. A story that may be accepted by its supporters, but not by others given the level of loss of life and destruction of land and property in Lebanon.
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