
Soldiers of the Lebanese army sitting next to their military vehicles parked along a road in the coastal city of Naqoura, in southern Lebanon, at the border with Israel, on Jan. 7, 2025, after the Israeli withdrawal from the region as part of the ceasefire agreement. (Credit: AFP)
Israel announced on Friday that the gradual withdrawal of its troops from south Lebanon, part of a cease-fire agreement in force since Nov. 27, "will continue" beyond the 60 days initially stipulated by the agreement. At the same time, the Israeli army continued its operations in the region, justifying them as necessary to eliminate "threats" from Hezbollah. This situation forced some residents of south Lebanon to stay away from their villages due to ongoing risks.
According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "the cease-fire agreement is not being fully implemented by Lebanon, the phased withdrawal process will continue in agreement with the United States."
The agreement, which ended more than two months of warfare, stipulates that the Lebanese army must deploy alongside the U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon, from where the Israeli army is to withdraw over 60 days, ending on this Sunday. However, the Israeli army evacuated the entire coastal region but still occupies areas further east.
The implementation of the agreement is supposed to be supervised by the United States and France, but France was not mentioned in the statement. Israel reportedly informed the Trump administration of its intention to maintain troops on Lebanese soil for at least an additional 30 days, according to CNN, citing an Israeli envoy in Washington. On Jan. 18, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun demanded the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon "within the time limits set" by the agreement. The Lebanese authorities did not immediately react to the announcement from Israel.
Return of residents impossible
While residents of certain localities in South Lebanon grow impatient and wish to return to their villages, the authorities are asking them to wait. In a statement released Friday night, the army urged "residents not to approach areas from which the Israeli enemy has withdrawn and to comply with the directives of military units." A military source also told al-Akhbar, a news outlet close to Hezbollah, that residents of the villages still occupied by Israel should wait for a communication from the Lebanese army expected by tomorrow, before going to their homes.
On Friday afternoon, the municipality of Bani Hayyan (Marjayoun) released a statement clarifying that Israel "contacted mukhtars (officials) and heads of municipal councils asking them not to go to these villages before the Israeli withdrawal," calling on residents to "refrain from any action before the publication of an official municipal statement."
"The Israelis came back last night and started shooting indiscriminately," Yahia Jaber, the head of the municipal council of Bani Hayyan, told L'Orient-Le Jour. "Flames have engulfed houses, smoke rises from neighboring villages. The Israelis are still there."
Residents of Kfar Kila expressed growing impatience to return home. On a Facebook page called "The youth of the village of Kfar Kila," followed by about 7,000 people, the inhabitants of the village were called on to go there Sunday at 4 a.m. "to celebrate the dawn prayer with dignity." In their call, they stated that the residents "have waited too long" and "must return home."
Incessant explosions
Meanwhile, according to information from L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent, Israeli attacks in south Lebanon continue and even seem to intensify. In the Marjayoun district, the Israeli army carried out explosions in Rab al-Thalathine as well as in Kfar Kila.
In the morning, in the Bint Jbeil district, it continued its progression towards the outskirts of Aitaroun, burning many homes. Later in the day, a husseiniya, a Shiite place of worship, was set on fire by the Israelis in the village of Yaroun. In the afternoon, Israeli soldiers continued to progress in the villages of Maroun al-Ras and machine-guns were fired around the village. In the evening, the Israeli army cut the main road connecting Aitaroun to the town of Bint Jbeil, as well as the road leading to Wadi Slouqi, Baraachit and Kounin.
In the Hasbaya district, an Israeli drone targeted the village of Sadana, located between Shebaa and Kfar Shouba, early Friday evening, as Israeli planes flew over the area. An Israeli drone also dropped three bombs in the al-Arid neighborhood, near the village of Yohmor (Nabatieh), north of the Litani River.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army continued its deployment and entered two villages in the Sour district, Shihine and Jibbein, where it conducted mine clearance operations for unexploded ordnance. In a statement released in the evening, it confirmed its deployment to Shihine and Jibbein, in coordination with the cease-fire monitoring commission and UNIFIL.
'Eliminating threats'
The Israeli army communicated twice about the situation in Lebanon on Friday via its social media channels. Its Arabic-language spokesperson posted on X that "Israeli forces, under northern command, conducted strikes in recent days in south Lebanon to neutralize the last threats and hit Hezbollah's arms depots and surveillance centers." Avichay Adraee said that the Israeli army "respects the cease-fire conditions" and "continues to monitor Hezbollah's attempts to redeploy in south Lebanon."
On its X account, the Israeli army stated it had located what it describes as "a vehicle loaded with weapons hidden under a mosque" in south Lebanon, without specifying the exact location. It also claimed to have found "an arms cache inside a mosque" containing "hundreds of mortar shells, explosives, rockets, weapons, and equipment belonging to Hezbollah." "We will continue our efforts to eliminate threats in south Lebanon while respecting the ceasefire agreements between Israel and Lebanon," the Israeli army stated.
Hezbollah said on Thursday that if Israel did not meet the deadline of Sunday, "it would be a blatant violation of the agreement." It added that the Lebanese state should then act "by all means" to enforce the text but did not threaten to resume its attacks against Israel.