Lebanese leaders said they were in contact with the United States and France to press Israel to fully withdraw, branding its continued presence in five places an "occupation" after a ceasefire deadline expired on Tuesday.

The UN called the incomplete pullout a violation of a Security Council resolution, though it has allowed many displaced residents to return to devastated border villages after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

It has also enabled the emergency services to retrieve bodies from previously inaccessible areas. Lebanon's civil defence agency said it had recovered 23 corpses from border villages.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the government was in contact with truce brokers the United States and France to press Israel to complete its withdrawal, after an initial late January deadline set under the deal was already extended.

Decision-makers are "unified in adopting the diplomatic option, because nobody wants war", Aoun said in a statement.

Earlier, Aoun joined the prime minister and the speaker of parliament in declaring that any Israeli presence on Lebanese soil constituted an "occupation".

In a statement, they said the government........

© Al Monitor