Israeli Army forces withdrew Tuesday from the last border towns and villages in southern Lebanon they captured during the war with Hezbollah, paving the way for the deployment of the Lebanese Army.

The Israeli troops, however, have remained in five strategic overlook points inside Lebanon — a sore point with Lebanese officials and the militant Hezbollah group, who have maintained that Israel is required to make a full withdrawal by Tuesday.

Ali Qashmar walked into his south Lebanon hometown on the Israeli border Tuesday to find bulldozed fields and piles of rubble where there used to be neighbourhoods brimming with life.