Israelis have marked 500 days of war in Gaza with protests demanding further progress on a ceasefire so all remaining hostages can be returned. People demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Monday as less than two weeks remain in the ceasefire's current phase.

JERUSALEM — Israel's military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday's deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group,

Israel says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon near the border after Tuesday’s deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group. The move came as the region marked 500 days of war and unrest linked to the war in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said that the presence of the terrorist infrastructure violated agreements between Jerusalem and Beirut.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday’s deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group,

Israel targeted with bus bombings, no one injured • Fourth body of returned slain hostages identified as Gazan woman

Israel will keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past a February 18 deadline for them to withdraw, a military spokesperson said on Monday, as Israeli leaders sought to reassure northern residents that they can return home safely.

Jerusalem — Israel has issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank, an anti-settlement watchdog said Monday. Israelis and Palestinians meanwhile marked the 500th day since Hamas' attack into Israel ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Monday killed the head of Hamas’ military operations in the country, Israel’s army said. The strike came as an Israeli official said Israeli forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon near the border after Tuesday’s deadline for their full withdrawal.

Falih al Fayyadh, the head of Iraq’s largely pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), traveled to Beirut for the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on February 23. Other senior members of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq also attended the funeral,

The announcement raised the specter of renewed fighting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia.

The Israeli military said it would remain in what it called “five strategic points” in southern Lebanon. Lebanese officials have called for Israel’s full withdrawal.