The deadline for all Israeli troops to withdraw from southern Lebanon under a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah expired on Tuesday, hours after Israel planned to remain in five strategic locations. According to Lebanese security officials, Israeli soldiers had begun withdrawing from some border villages since Monday, but they appeared to remain in key areas.
“As the Lebanese army advances, Israeli forces have begun withdrawing from border villages, including Mays al-Jabal and Blida,” said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Two months of full-scale war in southern and eastern Lebanon and south Beirut, considered Hezbollah’s strongholds, and a year of cross-border activities initiated by Hezbollah due to the Gaza conflict caused heavy destruction.
Officials estimate the cost of reconstruction could exceed $410 billion, while the United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 people are still internally displaced. Despite the devastation, thousands are anxiously waiting to return home since the November 27 ceasefire, inspecting their belongings and, in some cases, searching for the dead under the rubble.
“I miss sitting in front of my house, near my roses, drinking my morning coffee,” said Fatima Suker, 60, who is planning to return to her border village after more than a year and a half of displacement. “I miss everything about Mays al-Jabal, I miss my neighbors. We were separated and I don’t know where they went.”
Several border towns and villages, including the municipality of Mais al-Jabal, have called on displaced residents to wait for the Lebanese Army to deploy before returning there to ensure their ‘safe’ return. Lebanese television channel LBCI reported on Tuesday that the country’s army had moved overnight into Mais al-Jabal, Blida, Yaroun, Maroun and Mahbib.
Missing youth
Under a ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris, Lebanese forces were to deploy with UN peacekeepers while Israeli forces withdrew within 60 days. This period was extended until February 18. Hezbollah was to retreat north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the border, and dismantle the remaining military infrastructure there.
Hours before the deadline, the Israeli military said on Monday it would temporarily remain at “five strategic points” along the length of the shared border to “protect our residents and ensure there is no immediate threat.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would do whatever it took to “implement” the ceasefire. “Hezbollah must be disarmed,” he said.
Lebanese authorities have rejected any extension of the withdrawal period and have urged the agreement’s sponsors to pressure Israel to withdraw. Israeli soldiers are still present in some villages and towns in southeastern Lebanon.
“Despite the fact that our homes have been destroyed and we have lost young people, we will go to our city and be happy again,” Suker said. On Monday, Ramzi Kais of Human Rights Watch said that “Israel has deliberately destroyed civilian homes and infrastructure,” making it “impossible for many residents to return.”
According to the Ministry of Health, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since cross-border hostilities began in October 2023. According to an AFP tally based on official figures, 78 people, including soldiers, have been killed on the Israeli side of the border, and another 56 soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon during ground attacks.
Nearly 60 people have been reported killed since the ceasefire began, including two dozen killed on January 26 as residents tried to return to border towns during the initial return deadline. On Monday evening, the Lebanese government said in a message that it would make the state the sole bearer of weapons while lightening Hezbollah’s arsenal.
Calls for the disarmament of the Iran-backed group have multiplied since the end of the war that weakened the group.
