IDF warns Lebanese against return to border villages as it prepares to extend stay

The Israeli army on Saturday warned residents of dozens of Lebanese villages near the border against returning until further notice, a day after Israel said its forces would remain in south Lebanon beyond the Sunday deadline for their departure.

Listing the villages that cannot be entered alongside a map, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said: “The IDF does not intend to target you and therefore at this stage you are prohibited from returning to your homes from this line south until further notice. Anyone who moves south of this line — exposes himself to danger.”

The line on the map stretches from Shebaa, less than 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the border in the east, to Mansouri in the west — about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border.

A ceasefire signed in late November that ended the 2023-2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw as the Iran-backed terror group’s weapons and fighters are removed from the south and the Lebanese army deploys. The deal, brokered by Washington and Paris, set a 60-day period which ends on Sunday.

But Israel said on Friday the terms had not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, meaning Israeli troops would stay beyond Sunday, without saying for how long.

Lebanon’s US-backed military on Saturday accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.

The ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities that began when the Lebanese terror group started attacking Israel a day after Hamas’s deadly assault on the country on October 7, 2023. Incessant attacks continued until Israel launched a major campaign in Lebanon in September 2024, killing most of Hezbollah’s top leadership and crippling much of its capabilities.

The conflict uprooted tens of thousands in northern Israel and more than a million people in Lebanon.

The Israeli military says it has been seizing Hezbollah weapons and dismantling its infrastructure in south Lebanon amid the ceasefire.

The White House said on Friday that a short, temporary ceasefire extension was urgently needed.

French President Emmanuel Macron told his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun that he was in contact to maintain the ceasefire and complete the implementation of the agreement, the Lebanese president’s office said in a statement.

Aoun stressed to Macron the need to oblige Israel to implement the deal to preserve stability.

Hezbollah, which suffered major blows in the war, said on Thursday that any delay of Israel’s withdrawal would be an unacceptable breach of the deal and put the onus on the Lebanese state to act. Hezbollah said the Lebanese state would have to deal with such a violation “through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters.”

Israel said its campaign against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced by Hezbollah rocket fire to leave their homes in northern Israel.

The Lebanese army, in a statement issued on Saturday, urged Lebanese residents to wait before heading into the border region, citing the presence of mines and unexploded Israeli ordnance. The army said it had continued to implement the plan to strengthen its deployment south of the Litani River since the ceasefire came into effect.

“Delays occurred in a number of the phases as a result of procrastination in the withdrawal by the Israeli enemy, which complicated the mission of the army’s deployment,” the statement said. The army “maintains its readiness to complete its deployment as soon as the Israeli enemy withdraws.”

Reports in Israel have painted a different picture, with the Lebanese army said to be slow to carry out its duties under the ceasefire deal.

In the first public confirmation of a delay, following weeks of speculation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that “the IDF’s withdrawal process is conditional.” He said that since Lebanon “has not yet fully enforced” its obligations under the ceasefire, “the phased withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States.” The original 60-day deadline was slated for January 26.

Israeli soldiers are continuing to find Hezbollah weapons caches in areas covered by the truce, and army officials have reportedly said that Lebanon’s army is in some places helping Hezbollah.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement Friday: “All parties share the goal of ensuring Hezbollah does not have the ability to threaten the Lebanese people or their neighbors. To achieve these goals, a short, temporary ceasefire extension is urgently needed.

“We are pleased that the IDF has started the withdrawal from the central regions, and we continue to work closely with our regional partners to finalize the extension,” he added.

The IDF is currently deployed to several villages in southern Lebanon, mostly in the eastern sector. The Lebanese Armed Forces have deployed to villages in the western sector in recent weeks as the IDF has withdrawn.

The Israeli military is preparing for the possibility of renewed hostilities with Hezbollah if it reacts with force to Israel not fully withdrawing.

Hours after Netanyahu’s announcement Friday, the IDF said that in recent days it carried out strikes in southern Lebanon to “remove threats,” and troops have also demolished Hezbollah weapon depots and observation posts.

“The IDF is continuing to operate in accordance with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said. “The IDF remains deployed in southern Lebanon, continues to monitor Hezbollah’s attempts to return to southern Lebanon, and will operate against any threat posed to IDF troops and the State of Israel.”

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