‘The Israelis haven’t withdrawn in full’: Israel sets south Lebanon curfew as ceasefire holds

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah is holding after the two sides struck a deal brokered by the US and France but Israel has warned local residents not to return to the border area yet or approach its troops.

The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict for months, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the militant group in years but Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

Cars and vans piled high with mattresses, suitcases and even furniture streamed through the heavily bombed southern port city of Tyre heading south, where hundreds of thousands of people had been forced to flee their homes by the violence.

Displaced Lebanese Zahi Hijazi, 67, took advantage of the truce to visit his damaged apartment in Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying war had wrecked the building for a second time.

“Israel hit this building in 1982, it was all demolished. After 13 years of displacement, we returned and rebuilt it,” he said, surveying broken glass and broken furniture.

“Our lifetime’s savings ... All this destruction,” he said.

The ceasefire promises to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year.

However, the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman cautioned southern Lebanon residents against moving south of the Litani river from 5pm to 7am, noting that Israeli forces were still present in the area.

Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel’s enforcement of the ceasefire would be very determined.

“Hezbollah operatives who approach our troops, the border area and the villages within the area we have marked will be struck ... we are preparing, getting ready for the possibility that this (ceasefire) approach won’t succeed,” he said.

Lebanon’s army, entrusted with ensuring the ceasefire lasts, said it had begun deploying additional troops south of the Litani, into a region heavily bombarded by Israel in its battle against Hezbollah.

The river runs about 30km north of Israel’s border.

Israel’s attacks have also struck eastern cities and towns and Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and Israeli troops have pushed about 6km into Lebanon in a series of ground incursions launched in September.

Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can remain in Lebanon for 60 days and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border, after four Hezbollah operatives were detained in the area.

The Lebanese army urged returning residents not to approach areas where Israeli forces were present for their own safety.

Diplomatic efforts will now turn to the Gaza Strip, where Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which led the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli communities.

Israel has said its military aim in Lebanon had been to ensure the safe return of about 60,000 Israelis who fled from their communities along the northern border when Hezbollah started firing rockets at them in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In Lebanon, some cars flew Lebanese flags, others honked and one woman could be seen flashing the victory sign with her fingers as people started to return to homes they had fled.

Many of the villages the people were likely returning to have been destroyed.

Hussam Arrout, a father of four, said he was itching to return to his home.

“The Israelis haven’t withdrawn in full, they’re still on the edge. So we decided to wait until the army announces that we can go in. Then we’ll turn the cars on immediately and go to the village,” he said.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the group “appreciates” Lebanon’s right to reach an agreement which protects its people, and hopes for a deal to end the Gaza war.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday Israeli forces fired at several vehicles with suspects to prevent them from reaching a no-go zone in Lebanese territory and the suspects moved away.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that the group would retain the right to defend itself if Israel attacked.