Mourners dressed in black flocked to a stadium on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital on Sunday. They also paid their respects to Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s successor, who was killed in a separate Israeli strike before he could assume his post.

Nasrallah, the former leader of the Lebanese militant Shia Islamist group, was one of the most influential figures in the Middle East.

Hours before the funeral began at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), Israel launched air strikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers.

People braved the cold to attend the funeral, which was held at the 50,000-capacity Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium.

Nasrallah’s coffin was draped in Hezbollah’s flag and paraded along with Safieddine’s casket through huge crowds of black-clad mourners.

Excerpts of Nasrallah’s speeches were played to the gathered supporters, who chanted, waved flags and held portraits of the leaders.

Hezbollah’s current leader, Naim Qassem, addressed mourners via video link from an undisclosed location, saying Hezbollah remained “strong” and “would not submit”.

One mourner, 55-year-old Umm Mahdi, told the AFP news agency that the funeral was the “least we can do” for Nasrallah, “who gave up everything” for his cause.

Prior to his death, he had not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel.

The late leader had close personal links to Iran and played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today. He was revered by the group’s supporters.

Under Nasrallah’s 30-year leadership, Hezbollah – which is banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK, US and other countries – helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel.

He died aged 64 in Dahieh, a closely-guarded suburb of Beirut. After Nasrallah’s death, Hezbollah allowed open access to the area for the first time for a public memorial.

The mass funeral is an apparent show of strength for Hezbollah, which suffered a series of major setbacks during Israel’s campaign in Lebanon last year.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that Israeli planes were flying over the stadium while the funeral took place to “convey a clear message: whoever threatens to destroy Israel – that will be the end of them”.

Israel’s incursion into Lebanon came after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza.

Lebanon was subject to an intense Israeli air campaign and a ground invasion of the country’s south.

Dozens of senior figures were killed when Israeli-made walkie-talkies were detonated in a surprise attack in September 2024.

Many of Hezbollah’s most senior military and political leaders were also killed during the latest conflict with Israel.

The offensive killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon – including many civilians – and led to more than 1.2 million residents being displaced before a ceasefire deal was struck in November.

Representatives from Iran, Iraq and Yemen attended the funeral, which was delayed to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon – though some troops still remain.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the slain leaders as “two heroes of the resistance” in a speech.

Israeli ministers said some troops would remain inside Lebanon to protect Israel’s northern communities.

In response, Lebanon said Israel must withdraw completely. It said it would consider “the continued Israeli presence in any inch of Lebanese territory an occupation”.

The ceasefire requires Israel to withdraw and for Lebanon’s army to replace all armed groups south of the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) north of Israel.

Hezbollah was the dominant force in the area for decades, but was heavily damaged in the conflict, the deadliest fought with Israel since the militant group was formed in 1982.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,960 people – many of them civilians – were killed during the hostilities, and one million others were displaced from areas where Hezbollah had a strong presence.

Israeli authorities say more than 80 Israeli soldiers and 47 civilians were killed. About 60,000 citizens were displaced from northern Israel.

Most of those displaced in Lebanon have returned home, the UN says, while only a minority of those displaced in Israel have done so, according to reports.

The positions where Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops have been deployed are in mountainous terrain on the edge of the internationally recognised border between Lebanon and Israel.

On Tuesday Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the IDF was “temporarily remaining in five strategic high points”. He added that this was “necessary for our security”.

“Once Lebanon fully implements its side of the deal, there will be no need to hold these points,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem.

Lebanese soldiers moved into the areas vacated by Israeli troops and began clearing roadblocks and checking for unexploded ordnance, the Associated Press news agency reported on Tuesday.

It said some villagers pushed their way through to get back to their homes, many of which were blown up in the conflict.

“I am very happy I am going back even if I find my home destroyed,” said Atef Arabi, 36, who was returning to the village of Kfar Kila with his wife and two daughters. “If I find my house destroyed I will rebuild it.”

Israel’s withdrawal had been postponed from the original 60-day deadline – which fell on 26 January – stipulated in the ceasefire.

In a social-media post on Tuesday, Mr Katz said: “The IDF’s enforcement activities against Hezbollah will continue at full strength. We will not allow a return to the reality of 7 October [2023]” – referring to the date when Palestinian Hamas gunmen carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza.

Hezbollah had launched its military campaign against Israel the following day, saying it was acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said on Monday that the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel.

“We need to remain at those points at the moment to defend Israeli citizens, to make sure this process is complete and eventually hand it over to the Lebanese armed forces,” Shoshani told reporters.

He said the “temporary measure” was approved by the United States-led body monitoring the ceasefire, which came into effect in late November.

Lebanon had expressed concern earlier on Monday that Israel would not move all of its forces out of the country by Tuesday’s agreed deadline.

“We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow,” Aoun said in a statement.

“The Lebanese response will be through a unified, comprehensive national position,” the Lebanese president added.

Lebanon’s concerns over the Israeli army’s plans illustrate the fragility of the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

They also come after several reports of attacks across Lebanon, a common tactic of the Israeli military on the eve of a cessation of hostilities.

A drone struck a car in the port city of Sidon, the deepest of Israel’s many attacks in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect on November 27.

The strike near a Lebanese army checkpoint killed a Hamas official who headed the group’s operations department in Lebanon, the Israeli military said.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from the scene, said “Israel acts with little restraint.”

An Israeli drone also dropped a grenade on the main square of the southern town of Kfarchouba, and soldiers set fire to houses in the border town of Odaisseh, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Ramzi Kaiss from Human Rights Watch said “Israel’s deliberate demolition of civilian homes and infrastructure” was making it “impossible for many residents to return” home.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to the ceasefire to bring an end to months of all-out war, during which Israel launched ground operations against Lebanon and assassinated a wave of top Hezbollah figures, including chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Under the deal, the Israeli army was to withdraw from southern Lebanon over a 60-day period while Lebanon’s military deployed in the Hezbollah heartland alongside United Nations peacekeepers.

The 60-day deadline, which fell in late January, was later extended to Tuesday.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) from the Lebanon-Israel border, and dismantle any of its remaining military infrastructure in the south.

However, last week, Israel accused the Lebanese armed group of failing to abide by the deal and said it did not plan to fully withdraw in the short term.

Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said he had received word from Washington that Israel would remain in those five locations, a plan Lebanon rejected.

“What we’re hearing from Lebanese officials is that Israel will withdraw from some villages but will remain in strategic locations on hilltops just a few metres inside Lebanon,” Al Jazeera’s Khodr reported on Monday.

It is assumed that the positions Israel intends to maintain will offer military control across southern Lebanon.

Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), said, “It appears that there is a tacit if not an explicit US agreement to extend the withdrawal period.”

Israeli forces had been due to pull out next week but the source told the BBC Israel wanted its military to stay in five positions there for another 10 days, till 28 February.

The ceasefire deal that ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah was brokered by the US and France and came into force on 27 November.

It requires the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon and the removal of Hezbollah fighters and weapons from there too.

At the same time, thousands of Lebanese soldiers were expected to be deployed to the region where, for decades, Hezbollah has been the dominant force.

The ceasefire has already been extended once – the initial deadline was 26 January – after Israel said the Lebanese state had not fully implemented the deal. Lebanon accused Israel of delaying its withdrawal.

One of the priorities of the new Lebanese government is to restore the country’s territorial sovereignty, and the authorities strongly reject another delay.

President Joseph Aoun insisted on Wednesday that there was “no truth” to reports that another extension had been agreed, his office said. He also “repeatedly stressed Lebanon’s insistence on the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops” by Tuesday.

The continued presence of Israeli troops is a source of concern for many in Lebanon as Israel occupied the country’s south for 18 years, between 1982 and 2000.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to target Hezbollah, and has vowed to carry out more attacks on the Iran-backed group to stop it from rearming or rebuilding its forces.

On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier at low altitude over the capital Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire began.

Hezbollah, which is a militant, political and social movement, was severely weakened in the conflict with Israel, although it continues to enjoy significant support among Shia Muslims in Lebanon.

The ceasefire deal was widely considered as a surrender by the group, after it saw its infrastructure and weapons arsenal depleted, and hundreds of fighters and key figures killed, including long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The conflict escalated last September, when Israel launched an intense air campaign across Lebanon, assassinated Hezbollah’s senior leaders and invaded southern Lebanon.

The offensive killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon – including many civilians – and led to the displacement of more than 1.2 million residents, Lebanese authorities say. It also caused billions of dollars in destruction and damage.

Israel’s stated goal in its war against Hezbollah was to allow the return of about 60,000 residents who had been displaced from communities in the country’s north because of the group’s rocket, mortar and drone attacks, and to remove its weapons and infrastructure from areas along the border.

Hezbollah had launched its campaign the day after the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, saying it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli army said on Friday it struck “multiple” Hezbollah targets in the area near the border with Syria in the east, as tensions escalated following its extension of a recent deadline for removing its troops from the country.

The  army claimed that the sites it targeted in the overnight attack include “underground infrastructure used to develop and manufacture weaponry” and sites on the border used to “smuggle weaponry into Lebanon”.

Later on Friday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two people were killed and 10 wounded in the attack.

Hezbollah official Ibrahim Moussawi condemned the air raids, calling them “a very dangerous violation and a blatant and explicit aggression”, calling on Lebanon to halt Israel’s continued attacks.

Israel was supposed to complete its army’s withdrawal from Lebanon by January 26 under a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah agreed last November. However, it refused to do so and the deadline was then extended to February 18.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy in the south as Hezbollah pulls its forces back north of the Litani River, some 30km (20 miles) from the border.

Israel made clear it had no intention of meeting the deadline, claiming that the Lebanese army had not fulfilled its side of the bargain.

In the two months from November 27 to Monday, Israel killed at least 83 people in Lebanon, according to data obtained from Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.

At  least 228 were also injured as displaced residents tried to return to villages where Israeli soldiers remain stationed.

Earlier this week, as thousands of people in Lebanon tried to return to their homes, Israeli forces killed at least 24 in southern Lebanon.

This week, Lebanese media reported repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement by the Israeli military, including attacks on the town of Taybeh and village of Kfar Kila, both on the border with Israel.

The most recent drone attack injured at least five people in the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Selem on Wednesday, the Reuters news agency reported.

From the beginning of the conflict on October 8, 2023 to November 26, 2024, Israeli forces killed at least 3,961 people across Lebanon and injured more than 16,520.

The alliance has included armed entities and government actors in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, along with Palestinian groups.

With the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Tehran lost not only a four-decade alliance with the ruling family in Damascus but also major axis lifelines.

Amid claims that the axis has collapsed, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asserted last week such views are “ignorant” and wrong.

The span of resistance, he said, would “encompass the entire region” as the axis is not hardware that can be destroyed, rather it is faith and commitment that only grows stronger under pressure and will succeed in expelling the US from the region.

Kicking the US out, especially from neighbouring Iraq, remains a top goal for Tehran to avenge the January 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general and a main architect of the axis.

With Iran’s help from the early 1980s, Hezbollah grew into a major political force in Lebanon with a military force stronger than the country’s traditional army. The group has taken considerable hits from Israel in the past year, including the assassination of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and top commanders.

The message coming from Tehran has emphasised that “Hezbollah is alive” despite the Israeli onslaught, with Khamenei saying the resistance of the Lebanese and Palestinian forces means “defeat” for Israel.

For now, it is undeniable that Tehran has lost a strategic ally in Syria and that will reflect on its regional influence in the short term, according to Tehran-based researcher and author Ali Akbar Dareini.

“The most important damage to Iran’s security interests is the severing of the ground link with Lebanon. The Tehran-Baghdad-Damascus-Beirut axis made it easy for Iran to have access to Hezbollah,” he told Al Jazeera.

“The collapse of the Assad government significantly challenges prospects of rebuilding and re-equipping the resistance network, especially Hezbollah,” Dareini said, adding that Israel will now be even more emboldened to attack the Lebanese group despite a shaky ceasefire that has held so far amid numerous violations. 

 has also taken advantage of the fall of al-Assad to push deep inside Syria, occupying vast swaths of land in its south while launching hundreds of air strikes across the country.

In a second speech on Tuesday, Khamenei emphasised that “the Zionist regime believes it is preparing itself through Syria to encircle Hezbollah’s forces and uproot them, but the one who will be uprooted is Israel”.

While Iran has said it wants to maintain relations with Syria and that the new governing group’s distance from Israel would be a major deciding factor, Ahmed al-Sharaa, commander-in-chief of the new administration, says Syria is weary of wars and does not wish to make an enemy of Israel.

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said this week it is “unbearable” that Israeli soldiers are now merely kilometres away from Damascus, but added “they will be buried in Syria” in the future.

An emboldened Israel has hit Yemen’s Houthis again, launching strikes on Wednesday night on Yemeni infrastructure for the third time since July, killing nine people and hitting an oil facility, ships in a major port, and power stations.

Israeli media also report that Israeli military and intelligence services may be pursuing their decades-old policy of assassinating leaders in Yemen to destabilise the group.

They have set their sights on Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, along with top Yemeni military officials and a senior Iranian commander who coordinates the efforts of the IRGC’s Quds Force in the country, according to the Israel Hayom newspaper.

In addition to attacks on shipping lanes near its waters in stated protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, the Yemeni group has kept up attacks on Israel.

The Houthis announced on Thursday they fired two ballistic missiles towards military targets in Israel, which appeared to have been at least partially intercepted, with shrapnel from one landing on a school and damaging it without inflicting any casualties.

The Houthis landed another ballistic missile in Tel Aviv on Saturday, injuring 16 people and leaving a crater in a public park. Two interceptor missiles were filmed failing to bring down the missile, with the group’s military spokesman promising more attacks.

In Iraq, the US has demanded Baghdad dismantle the Iran-aligned armed groups in the country, according to Ibrahim Al-Sumaidaie, a top adviser to the prime minister who said in a televised interview on Wednesday that Washington threatened military force if the Iraqi government does not accede.

Many of the Shia-majority armed groups aligned with Iran are now part of the official Iraqi security forces.

The US has been Israel’s stalwart ally throughout its war on Gaza and other moves in the Middle East.

The axis can no longer function as a coherent network of states and militias stretching from Iran to the Levant, Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, said.

“It has lost its anchors in the Levant. Although it is still present in Iraq and Yemen, it will not play the same strategic role it had until now,” he told Al Jazeera.

“If it is to be relevant again, it will have to be in a different form and then depending on what the evolving situation is in the Levant.”

The Iran-led axis was built on three main pillars that have been altered by the fall of al-Assad, according to Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

The first was a geographical connection between key members, which was complemented and stretched to the Mediterranean by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, with the Houthis in Yemen holding the southern flank, he explained.

The second was close coordination and unity between members, with a principle that meant a threat to one member of the axis was considered a threat to all, triggering a collective response.

“The third pillar was its ideological foundation: the very notion of resistance. This ideology, characterised by strong anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiments, served as the core unifying idea behind the axis,” he told Al Jazeera.

Azizi said the first two pillars are now severely damaged, if not destroyed, but the third remains and may have been strengthened in some aspects.

“This evolving situation could be described as ‘resistance without an axis’. What we are observing is Iran attempting to fortify the first line of its forward defence in Iraq and Yemen, while the rest of the axis operates at a significantly reduced capacity and with far less coordination than in the past.”

“They will not be able to achieve their goals despite what they have done in past days, and we as Hezbollah will be by Syria’s side in thwarting the goals of this aggression as much as we can,” Qassem said on Thursday, adding that the “aggression” is sponsored by the United States and Israel.

His comments came hours after Syrian opposition forces captured the strategic city of Homs in central Syria, their latest victory in a lightning offensive that was launched eight days ago.

Qassem did not give details of how Hezbollah would support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but said the Iran-aligned group would do what it could.

Hezbollah is currently observing a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel, after a year of war that has brought much devastation to Lebanon’s south in particular.

Many of the group’s leadership have been killed in Israeli attacks, while tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have been driven from their homes.

Civilians have also borne the brunt of Syria’s 13-year-long war, which had been largely frozen since 2020 until opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, launched a new offensive from their strongholds in northwest Syria last week.

Over the weekend the rebels captured Aleppo, the country’s second largest city, before pushing south and entering Hama on Thursday.

More than 280,000 people have been displaced by the recent fighting, the United Nations World Food Programme said in a post on X.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an end to the fighting and said the escalating conflict in Syria is the result of a “chronic collective failure” of diplomacy.

Guterres called for immediate humanitarian access to all civilians in need in Syria and a return to a UN-facilitated political process to end the bloodshed.

“Tens of thousands of civilians are at risk in a region already on fire,” Guterres told reporters.

“We are seeing the bitter fruits of a chronic collective failure of previous de-escalation arrangements to produce a genuine nationwide ceasefire or a serious political process to implement Security Council resolutions,” he said.

He urged “all those with influence to do their part for the long-suffering people” of Syria and said all parties are obligated to protect civilians.

While al-Assad relied heavily on Russian and Iranian backing throughout the most intense years of Syria’s war, some opposition groups established ties with Turkiye.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called on al-Assad to urgently find a “political solution” to the war.

“The Syrian regime must commit urgently with its people in favour of a global political solution,” Erdogan said in a call with Guterres, according to a statement released by the presidency.

Erdogan, whose country has become home to about three million Syrian refugees since the war started in 2011, has held several discussions with other leaders on the crisis in recent days.

“Turkiye has been striving to reduce tensions, protect civilians and open a political process and will continue to do so,” Erdogan was quoted as saying in the statement.

Highlighting that the conflict has reached a “new stage”, Erdogan said, “Turkiye’s biggest wish is that Syria does not become embroiled in bigger instability and see even more civilian victims.”

Erdogan was an outspoken critic of al-Assad for much of the war but has recently taken a more conciliatory line.

For its part, the Lebanese group said on Monday that it carried out a “preliminary defensive response” to the “repeated violations” of the ceasefire by attacking an Israeli military base in the hills of Kfar Chouba, a disputed area that Lebanon claims as its own.

Hezbollah said Israeli breaches of the truce that went into effect on Wednesday include deadly air raids across Lebanon, shooting at civilians in the south, and flying drones and jets in Lebanese airspace, including over the capital, Beirut.

The group said it launched its “warning” attack because “appeals by the relevant authorities to stop these violations did not succeed”.

The renewed violence highlights the fragility of the ceasefire, which ended a devastating war that killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon and saw Hezbollah fire rockets daily at Israel.

Earlier on Monday, Lebanon’s State Security agency said an Israeli rocket killed officer Mahdi Khreis in the southern district of Nabatieh, calling the incident a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire and a dangerous escalation.

Israeli bombardment in neighbouring Marjayoun killed another person, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said. A drone attack in the northeast of the country also injured a Lebanese soldier.

Although the ceasefire calls on all parties to hold their fire, Israel has been launching near-daily attacks against Lebanon.

Lebanese media have also reported that the Israeli military is using the truce to advance into new neighbourhoods in towns that it had entered during the war.

Life in Lebanon “started resuming” after the ceasefire was reached with hundreds of thousands of displaced people returning to their homes.

“Now, it seems with Israel’s insistence on violating the ceasefire, Hezbollah found it necessary to say … that these violations must stop or things might get out of control,” Hashem said.

After months of low-level hostilities, Israel launched an all-out war on Lebanon on September 23 with the stated aim of defeating Hezbollah.

The Lebanese group had been targeting Israeli military bases in northern Israel for months in an effort that it said was aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war on Gaza.

Israel assassinated top Hezbollah military and political leaders early in the war, including the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah.

It also levelled thousands of buildings and homes across Lebanon with its focus on southern and eastern Lebanon and the Beirut suburbs of Dahiyeh – areas where Hezbollah is popular.

Still, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at northern and central Israel. The group also said it inflicted heavy losses on invading Israeli troops that crossed into the country.

The truce, which was brokered by the United States and France, stipulates that the Israeli military must withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days and Hezbollah must move away from the border with Israel until it is north of the Litani River.

During those two months, the Lebanese army is to deploy to southern Lebanon to be the only armed force there.

 Although Israel said its recent attacks are to “enforce” the truce, the agreement prohibits attacks by all sides.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who was Lebanon’s chief negotiator in the ceasefire talks, stressed on Monday that Israel has violated the truce more than 54 times, including by carrying out air raids and demolishing homes near the border.

“All these activities represent flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement,” he said in a statement.On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz suggested the country is ready for further escalation, promising a “harsh response” to the Hezbollah attack.

“We promised to act against any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah – and that is exactly what we will do,” he said in a social media post.

But the US voiced confidence in the truce agreement on Monday. “Broadly speaking, it has been successful in stopping the fighting and getting us on a path where we are not seeing the daily loss of life that we had seen for two months prior,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

He said the US administration will work through a monitoring mechanism established by the agreement to address potential violations to the ceasefire.

In his first televised address since the truce went into effect, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Friday that he did not envision “problems or disagreement” with the army, which under the terms of the deal will deploy to southern Lebanon over 60 days as Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces withdraw.

The coordination between the resistance and the Lebanese army will be at a high level to implement the commitments of the agreement,” Qassem said.

“We will work to … strengthen Lebanon’s defensive capacities,” he said.

“The resistance will be ready to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of Lebanon’s weakness along with our partners … first and foremost the army,” he added.

The Lebanese army has sent some troops to the south and is preparing a detailed deployment plan to share with Lebanon’s cabinet, the Reuters news agency reported, citing security sources and officials.

Under the terms of the US-brokered truce, Israeli forces have 60 days to complete their withdrawal, which could delay a larger deployment of Lebanese army forces.

The Israeli military has issued restrictions on people returning to villages along Lebanon’s border with Israel and has fired at people in those villages in recent days, calling those movements a violation of the truce.

Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah have accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire in those instances, and by launching an air strike north of the Litani River on Thursday.

Israeli warplanes launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, claiming they were targeting Hezbollah weapons.

Israeli forces stationed in the town of Khiam – which include at least four tanks – on Friday opened fire at people as they tried to bury a body in the cemetery.

Al Jazeera reported that, “there’s been gunshots towards civilians. There’s been artillery bombardment. There’s been Merkava tanks launching shells on several areas.

Qassem also declared a “divine victory” in the group’s war with Israel and claimed that the victory was even bigger than the one in 2006, when Hezbollah and Israel fought for 34 days.

He said Israeli forces killed and displaced thousands of people, including fighters, but also suffered heavy losses and failed to succeed in their goals. He said Hezbollah will continue to support Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel continues more than yearlong assault.

“To those that were betting that Hezbollah would be weakened, we are sorry, their bets have failed,” he said.

American and French officials, as members of a committee set up to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire, were in Beirut on Friday and met Lebanese army officials.

The Israeli army continues to tell Lebanese to evacuate areas near the border and refrain from going back to their homes.

In a summary of military operations against Hezbollah since the outbreak of the conflict in October 2023, the Israeli military on Friday claimed it has struck more than 12,500 Hezbollah targets, including 1,600 command centres and 1,000 weapons depots.

As part of its ground invasion of southern Lebanon which began in October, it said more than 100 special operations were carried out by 14 Israeli military brigade-level task forces.

It claimed to have killed at least 2,500 Hezbollah members and senior officials.

Lebanese health authorities say at least 3,961 people have been killed and 16,520 wounded in the fighting since October 2023.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published a map showing a swathe of territory several miles deep, which it said residents must not return to. Anyone who did, it said, would be putting themselves in danger.

More than a million Lebanese have been displaced by the fighting, mostly from the south. Tens of thousands of Israelis have also been displaced.

The truce came into effect on Wednesday morning, though officials in Israel and Lebanon have accused each other of already breaching it.

On Thursday, the IDF said its forces fired artillery and carried out air strikes against targets in southern Lebanon. It added that it had fired at suspects after spotting activity at a Hezbollah weapons facility, and vehicles arriving in several areas, which it said breached the ceasefire.

Lebanon accused Israel of violating the agreement “multiple times” and said it was monitoring the situation.

A multinational monitoring group which includes representatives from the US, France, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was set up as part of the ceasefire to oversee compliance with its terms.

In his first interview since the ceasefire was declared, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the IDF to wage “an intensive war” should Hezbollah commit a “massive violation” of the ceasefire.

The ceasefire “can be short”, he said in the interview with Israel’s Channel 14.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was brokered by the US and France, Israeli forces will withdraw from south Lebanon as the Lebanese army deploys there simultaneously with no other armed groups allowed to operate in the area. This is meant to happen within 60 days from the start of the ceasefire.

The zone which the IDF said residents should not yet return to stretches from Mansouri on the coast to Shebaa in the east.

On Wednesday, the Lebanese army warned residents not to return to areas where Israeli forces were before they had withdrawn.

Israel invaded southern Lebanon at the start of last month after the IDF intensified military action against Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began the current conflict with Israel by firing rockets in and around northern Israel on 8 October 2023, a day after Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza which killed about 1,200 people.

Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israel responded to the Hamas attack with a massive military campaign in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 44,330 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive.

Since 8 October, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire with increasing intensity. The Lebanese health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed at least 3,961 people and injured 16,520 others in that period. The figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah’s attacks have killed 31 soldiers and 45 civilians inside Israel, Israeli authorities say. Another 45 Israeli soldiers have been killed fighting in southern Lebanon.