Deadline for Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon expires

A deadline expired on Tuesday for all Israeli troops to leave south Lebanon under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, hours after Israel said it planned to remain in five strategic locations.

Israeli troops had started withdrawing Monday from some border villages, according to a Lebanese security official, but they seemed poised to stay in key areas.

"Israeli forces are beginning to withdraw from border villages, including Mais al-Jabal and Blida, as the Lebanese army advances," the official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Hezbollah strongholds in south and east Lebanon and south Beirut saw heavy destruction during two months of all-out war and a year of cross-border hostilities initiated by Hezbollah over the Gaza conflict.

Authorities estimate reconstruction costs could reach more than $10 billion (AED 36.7 billion), while more than 100,000 remain internally displaced, according to United Nations figures.

Despite the devastation, thousands have been waiting eagerly since the November 27 ceasefire to return home, inspect their properties and in some cases search for the dead under the rubble.

"I miss sitting in front of my house, near my roses and having a morning cup of coffee," said Fatima Shukeir, in her sixties, who plans to return to her border village after more than a year and a half of displacement.

"I miss everything in Mais al-Jabal, I miss my neighbours. We were separated and I don't know where they went," Shukeir said.

Several border towns and villages, including Mais al-Jabal's municipality, have called on displaced residents to wait for the Lebanese army to deploy there before coming back, so as to guarantee their "safe" return.

Under the ceasefire, brokered by Washington and Paris, Lebanon's military was to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was extended to February 18.

Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle remaining military infrastructure there.

Hours before the deadline, Israel's military said Monday it would remain temporarily "in five strategic points" dotted along the length of the shared border in order to "continue to defend our residents and to make sure there's no immediate threat".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel would do what it has to in order to "enforce" the ceasefire.

"Hezbollah must be disarmed," he added.

Lebanese authorities have rejected any extension of the withdrawal period, urging sponsors of the deal to pressure Israel to pull out.

Israeli troops are still present in a handful of villages and towns in southeast Lebanon.

"We'll go to our town and be happy (again), despite the fact that our homes have been destroyed and we lost young people," Shukeir said.

On Monday, Ramzi Kaiss from Human Rights Watch said "Israel's deliberate demolition of civilian homes and infrastructure" was making it "impossible for many residents to return".

Since the cross-border hostilities began in October 2023, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the health ministry.

On the Israeli side of the border, 78 people including soldiers have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, with an additional 56 troops dead in southern Lebanon during the ground offensive.

Around 60 people have reportedly been killed since the truce began, two dozen of them on January 26 as residents tried to return to border towns on the initial withdrawal deadline.

On Monday evening, Lebanon's government said the state should be the sole bearer of arms, in a thinly veiled message on Hezbollah's arsenal.

Calls for the Iran-backed group's disarmament have multiplied since the end of the war that has weakened the group.