Many towns and villages on the south Lebanon border were left in ruins by the Israeli offensive [Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty]
The Israeli military warned south Lebanon residents again on Friday to avoid returning to a large border zone for the time being, as it shot at some civilians who visited their towns.
Since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group came into effect on Wednesday, the Israeli army has told people they were prohibited “until further notice” from approaching a vast area spanning the frontier, in addition to 10 other towns and villages outside this area.
These 10 localities are Al-Mansouri, Yater, Baraachit, Chaqra, Al-Qantara, Yohmor, Arnoun, Marjaayoun, Al-Habbariyeh, and Chebaa.
Many displaced Lebanese began rushing to visit their towns and villages in the south, devastated by more than a year of cross-border hostilities which escalated into an open war in September.
On Friday, Israeli gunfire was reported in Aytaroun right next to the town of Bint Jbeil, injuring some people.
There were also reports that two men had been kidnapped from the hilltop border town of Khiam, but this was later denied by a local MP.
The Lebanese army has blocked roads in an effort to prevent people from heading to the region where Israeli forces were still present.
Dozens of violations have been recorded by the Israeli army since the war ended, including the shelling of border communities, firing towards civilians nearing the no-go area, and one airstrike on Thursday that the army claimed targeted a Hezbollah weapons facility.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, Israeli troops will hold their positions but “a 60-day period will commence in which the Lebanese military and security forces will begin their deployment towards the south”, a US official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Then, Israel should begin a phased withdrawal without a vacuum forming that Hezbollah or others could rush into, the official said. Hezbollah must move its fighters and heavy weaponry north of the Litani River.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel successfully foiled Hezbollah’s plans to invade northern Israel by dismantling its infrastructure at the border.
But Netanyahu, who the International Criminal Court earlier this month slapped with an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, also threatened to launch another “intensive war” if Hezbollah breaches the fragile ceasefire.
Officials in the Israeli security establishment estimate the probability of the ceasefire collapsing and a return to fighting in Lebanon at 50 percent, reported Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The clearer the rules of the ceasefire agreement and its implementation are, the longer the agreement will last, the paper cited one Israeli officer as saying.
In northern Israel, authorities have said it remains unclear when the tens of thousands of people who were forced from their homes will be allowed to return.
