AT LEAST two people were wounded by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon today as Hezbollah accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire between them. 

This comes as the people of Gaza continue to face a humanitarian crisis.

The Israeli military said that it had fired at people trying to return to certain areas on the second day of a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group.

The ceasefire agreement includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah fighters 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 United Nations peacekeepers.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said that two people were wounded by Israeli fire in Markaba, close to the border. 

It said that Israel fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Israeli military said “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” 

It said that troops would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

But Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, accused Israel of violating the ceasefire.

Mr Fadlallah said the Israelis opened fire on civilians returning home to their villages along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.

He told reporters: “The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages. “

Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it believes it has broken the terms of the truce.

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

Israel launched bombing raids in response and invaded Lebanon on October 1 this year.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deepen with no end in sight to the fighting. 

Spokesman for the UN’s children’s relief fund Kazem Abu-Khalaf says that 2,500 children in the Gaza Strip need urgent medical attention or evacuation.

Mr Abu-Khalaf said in a statement that about “30 per cent of children in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe malnutrition” and about 95 per cent of the schools that house displaced people in the Gaza Strip have been “completely destroyed.”

He said: “The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is extremely difficult, and tragic, and is getting worse.”