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.

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

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,

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,

At dawn, South Lebanon residents returned to their towns to verify Israel's commitment to the ceasefire agreement, fully aware that the Israeli military had seized every opportunity over the past 60 days to inflict destruction.

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,

Lebanese volunteers are anxious to get back to sea turtle conservation on southern beaches that were off-limits to civilians when fighting escalated between Israel and Hezbollah.

United Arab Emirates billionaire Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, who this week scrapped his investments in Lebanon, said the country was still not safe and that he had been threatened with being "slaughtered and killed" last year.

Lebanon’s new government should prioritize protecting and promoting human rights, accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.

The election of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is a political breakthrough in Lebanon and a harbinger of what could happen in a country long dismissed as unsalvageable. Beirut’s new leadership reflects the aspiration of a majority of the Lebanese people to live in a functioning state free from the dual drivers of its failure: political violence and pervasive corruption.

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.