Israel is slowly withdrawing from Lebanese villages it occupied, as part of a ceasefire deal. Lebanese residents waiting to return to their villages say the Israeli military has destroyed nearly everything.

The Lebanese army entered two towns Friday in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon following an Israeli withdrawal, according to the Lebanese state news agency, NNA. The development comes barely one day before the deadline for the withdrawal. Israel, however, said earlier that the withdrawal could take longer than the 60-day timeline.

The Lebanese Army announced that one of its soldiers was killed and another wounded in separate incidents of gunfire by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. In a statement, the army reported that the fatal shooting occurred on the Marwahin-Dhayra road in the Tyre District,

Violations reported after 24 people killed, scores injured by Israeli army fire in southern Lebanon - Anadolu Ajansı

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The Israeli military said on Friday that it remained deployed in southern Lebanon while maintaining the terms of the ceasefire deal. The army conducted strikes targeting Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and active observation posts in southern Lebanon over the past few days,

Lebanon remains on edge as the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire expires. The Lebanese Army said that a soldier was shot dead and another wounded, with one attack occurring on the Marwahin-Dhayra-Tyre road and another in Mays Al-Jabal.

For a second day, Lebanese were defying Israeli warnings and attempting to reach southern border towns that remained occupied by Israeli troops. At least two people were killed, officials said.

Bloodshed over the weekend highlighted the brittleness of the cease-fires in both places. Still, Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah each have reasons to postpone a new escalation, at least for a few weeks.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip on Monday as Israel lifted its closure of the north for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

Reuters reported last year that the Biden administration had sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants from Gaza but had put a hold on one shipment.

The White House said Friday that a ceasefire extension is "urgently needed" in Lebanon, adding that it welcomed the Israeli army withdrawal from the country’s central regions. "We are pleased that the Israeli Army has started the withdrawal from the central regions of Lebanon,