Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Sunday that it was the recently-formed Lebanese government's responsibility to ensure that the Israeli army withdraws from the country by February 18 – the ceasefire deadline – as Israel carried out air strikes and fired at residents returning to the south.

Lebanese media say a woman has been killed and several people wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on a group of residents attempting to return to a village.

Israeli forces killed a woman and injured others trying to return to Houla village in southern Lebanon, days before a scheduled ceasefire. Hezbollah's leader demands Israel's complete withdrawal by February 18,

The Israeli military said Thursday it destroyed several sites in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv. A military statement alleged that the sites housed stockpiles of missiles, rockets, mortar shells, grenades, explosives, and firearms.

In justifying the escalation, Israeli Army Radio cited an unnamed security source claiming that the airstrikes were targeting “sites deep inside Lebanon” under the pretext of “attempts to transfer weapons from Syria and establish new Hezbollah positions.”

After Israel missed a previous deadline at the end of January, this Tuesday is the new deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from southern Lebanon. Israel has indicated that its troops will remain in some strategic areas along the border,

The head of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Sunday issued an ultimatum to Israeli troops to withdraw fully from Lebanese territory. While giving Israeli forces until 18 February to withdraw, Hezbollah stated that it had no reason to maintain a military presence at any post in southern Lebanon.

An armored vehicle of the Lebanese Army and the UNIFIL Blue Helmets mark the last line before reaching the positions where the Israeli forces are sheltering in the areas still occupied on the outskirts of the Lebanese municipality of Aitaroun,