Israeli fighter jets struck southern Lebanon on Thursday a day after a ceasefire was implemented.
The Israeli military said it hit a facility belonging to Hezbollah where it detected “terrorist activity”.
Nazih Eid, the mayor of the town of Baysariyeh, said “a warplane launched a raid about an hour ago on the eastern edge of the town of Baysariyeh. They targeted a forested area not accessible to civilians.”
The army earlier said tanks had fired at several suspects “arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire”.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, intended to allow people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.
However, the Israeli military had urged residents of towns along the border strip not to return yet for their own safety.
On Thursday morning, Israeli tank fire hit six areas within that border strip, state media and Lebanese security sources told Reuters.
The rounds struck Markaba, Wazzani, Kfarchouba, Khiyam, Taybe and the agricultural plains around Marjayoun, all of which lie within two kilometres (1.2 miles) of the Blue Line demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel. One of the security sources said two people were wounded in Markaba.
Lebanese families displaced from their homes near the southern border have tried to return to check on their properties, but Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border.
Daniel Hagari, the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said the withdrawal of its troops from the area would be gradual, reflecting the fragility of the deal.
Sarit Zehavi, from Alma, an Israeli NGO focused on security on Israel’s northern border, said the situation in Lebanon is complicated for Israeli troops as Lebanese citizens return home.
“Hezbollah operatives, disguised amongst Lebanese civilians as human shields, are encouraging them to return to their homes despite the risks to their safety,” she said.
‘We are in limbo’
In Israel’s north, the ceasefire remained a contentious topic. “Most of us didn’t want it,” said Alana Naim, a resident in Nahariya. “We don’t feel safe still, and now we are in a limbo.”
Uri Halevi, who has been displaced from Kiryat Shmona since last year, said he was unsure when he would be able to go home.
“We’ve been told we have until the end of the school year next month before we need to leave the government accommodation, but a lot can happen in 60 days,” he said.
“Right now, nothing feels stable, so do I want to take my children home to then have to relocate them again?”
There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Hezbollah or Israel, who had been fighting for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war.
The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, in the Gaza Strip.
Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon, but neither side can launch offensive operations. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border.
Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s speaker of parliament and the top interlocutor for the country in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home.
Hezbollah has said its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy”. Its forces will monitor Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon “with their hands on the trigger”.
The group has been weakened by casualties and the killing by Israel of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and other commanders.
