Lebanon says 2 hurt as Israeli troops fire on people returning south after truce with Hezbollah

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A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that began Wednesday appeared to be holding, as residents in cars heaped with belongings streamed back toward southern Lebanon despite warnings from Israeli and Lebanese troops that they stay away from certain areas. If it holds, the ceasefire would bring an end to nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

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Lebanese army convoys were seen on Wednesday heading towards the border with Israel from the southern port city of Tyre. Under the ceasefire deal, Lebanon is tasked with deploying more Lebanese troops while Hezbollah will have to withdraw its heavy weapons from the border area. (AP video shot by Fadi Tawil)

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Residents started returning home Thursday, one day after a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel was agreed upon. If it holds, the cease-fire could give reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the border. (AP video shot by Bassam Hatoum)

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A South Korean U.N peacekeeper patrol drive past destroyed buildings in Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A man sits on the rubble of a destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Residents walk on the rubble of destroyed buildings after they returned to Qana village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A woman collects the remains of her destroyed house after she returned to Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A damaged vehicle seen in front of part of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Damaged vehicles seen in front of the Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A person stands next to remains and his family destroyed house after he returned to Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A South Korean U.N peacekeeper armoured vehicle drives by destroyed buildings in Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A man lowers a bag of his family’s clothing from the roof of his destroyed house after he returned to his village of Hanouiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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Residents walk past destroyed buildings as they return to Qana village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A boy holds a Hezbollah’s flag, as displaced residents return to Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Hatoum)

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Displaced residents drive past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Hatoum)

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Residents walk past destroyed buildings as they return to Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Hatoum)

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A man inspects a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A woman inspects buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Zeina Rida Jawhari, reacts after recovering a photo of her father from the rubble of her destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Displaced residents hug as they stand in front of the rubble of their destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Displaced residents hug as they stand in front of the rubble of their destroyed house in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A man inspects a house that was destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and JULIA FRANKEL

BEIRUT (AP) — At least two people were wounded by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to state media. The Israeli military said it had fired at people trying to return to certain areas on the second day of a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group.

The agreement, brokered by the United States and France, includes an initial two-month cease-fire in which Hezbollah militants are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded by Israeli fire in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. It said Israel fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

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Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.

A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.

More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.

In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.

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Frankel reported from northern Israel. Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel contributed.

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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war