Lebanon PM says Beirut works for ‘complete Israeli withdrawal’ as Trump sets no timeline

However, the Lebanese military said on Tuesday that Israeli forces “opened fire in the vicinity of these units,” adding that the incident would hinder the deployment.

The Israeli military said it had only fired “warning shots into the air” after Lebanese soldiers entered an area that was “not part of the pilot area”.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2, when Israel and the US started a war on Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, triggering Hezbollah to fire missiles on Israeli positions.

Since then, Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon and expanded its occupation in the country’s south.

Preparing the area for residents coming home

After planting a Lebanese flag in the village, Salam said that “in parallel with the army’s deployment, we will continue opening roads, removing rubble, and securing essential services, enabling our people to return safely and with dignity to their homes and villages”.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 4,300 people since March, according to the Lebanese authorities, while Israeli forces have demolished scores of buildings in the south.

The violence has dropped off sharply since the signing of a framework agreement between the United States and Iran last month and the Lebanon-Israel deal.

While more than a million people were displaced by the violence, more than 700,000 have returned to their homes over the past few weeks, according to the United Nations.