Israel warned the Lebanese not to return to the border area.

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli army warned residents of dozens of Lebanese villages near the border on Saturday not to return until further notice.

A US-brokered ceasefire that ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel last year calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces as the Iran-backed group withdraws its weapons and fighters from the south and the Lebanese army deploys. The agreement set a 60-day deadline that ends Sunday.

But Israel said on Friday that the terms had not been fully implemented in Lebanon, without saying how long Israeli troops would stay beyond Sunday.

The US-backed Lebanese army accused Israel of delaying its withdrawal on Saturday.

In a statement on social media X, the Israeli army posted a map showing dozens of villages in the south and reminded residents that they would not be allowed to return to their homes until further notice.

“Anyone who goes south of this line puts themselves at risk,” the statement said. The line runs from Sheba, less than 2 km (1.5 mi) from the border in the east, to Mansuri in the west – 10 km (6 mi) from the border.

The cease-fire was sparked by the Gaza war and a major Israeli offensive against Hezbollah, which has been more than a year in the making, uprooting more than a million people in Lebanon and severely weakening the group.

The Israeli army says it is seizing Hezbollah’s weapons and destroying its infrastructure in the south.

The White House said on Friday that a short-term ceasefire extension was urgently needed.

Hezbollah, which has been hit hard by the war, said on Thursday that any delay in Israel’s withdrawal would be an unacceptable violation of the accord and would trigger action against the Lebanese government. Hezbollah said the Lebanese government must deal with such violations “by all means and methods guaranteed by international charters.”

Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah is aimed at forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in northern Israel after Hezbollah rocket fire.

In a statement on Saturday, the Lebanese army urged Lebanese residents to be careful before going to the border area, citing the presence of landmines and unexploded Israeli bombs.

The army said it was continuing to implement plans to intensify operations south of the Litani River after the ceasefire agreement came into effect.

“Due to the delay in withdrawal by the Israeli enemy, delays occurred at several levels, which complicated the mission of the army’s deployment,” the statement said. The army “remains ready to complete the deal as soon as Israel’s enemy leaves.”