Lebanon's president voiced concern Monday that Israel may not fully withdraw its forces by the deadline the following day, as Israel said it killed a Hamas commander in south Lebanon.

Officials in Lebanon have demanded Israel's full withdrawal by Tuesday, after Israeli forces missed an earlier January cut-off under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow," President Joseph Aoun said in a statement from his office.

"The Lebanese response will be through a unified, comprehensive national position," he added.

Lebanon's president Joseph Aoun says he is concerned Israel may not fully withdraw troops. Photo: AFP

The Israeli military said it killed "the head of Hamas' operations department in Lebanon" in an air strike, after Lebanon's official National News Agency said a raid targeted a vehicle in the coastal city of Sidon.

In a statement, it said Mohammed Shahine "was eliminated after recently planning terror attacks, directed and funded by Iran, from Lebanese territory against the citizens of the state of Israel".

An AFP photographer saw soldiers and first responders inspecting the mangled, burnt-out wreckage of the vehicle.

Israel has repeatedly targeted Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 and Hezbollah initiated cross-border hostilities with Israel over the conflict.

The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire has been in effect since November 27, after more than two months of all-out war during which Israel launched ground operations.

Ceasefire sponsors

Under the deal, Lebanon's military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.

Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border -- and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

"We are continuing contacts on several levels to push Israel to respect the agreement and to withdraw on the scheduled date, and return the prisoners," Aoun said earlier Monday.

"The sponsors of the deal should bear their responsibility to assist us," he added.

A committee involving the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UN peacekeepers is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday said it was the government's responsibility to ensure the Israeli army fully withdraws by Tuesday's deadline.

Last week, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said Washington had told him that while Israel would withdraw on February 18, "it will remain in five locations".

Lebanon has rejected the demand.

Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences-Po university in Paris, said "it appears that there is a tacit if not an explicit US agreement to extend the withdrawal period".

"The most likely scenario is that Israel would maintain control over four or five hills that basically oversee most of south Lebanon's villages," he said.

'Impossible' to return

Aoun said Monday that "the important thing is to achieve the Israeli withdrawal, and Hezbollah's weapons come as part of solutions the Lebanese agree on."

During a joint address with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, top US diplomat Marco Rubio said that "in the case of Lebanon, our goals are aligned... A strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hezbollah".

Netanyahu said that "Hezbollah must be disarmed. And Israel would prefer that the Lebanese army do that job, but no one should doubt that Israel will do what it has to do to enforce the understandings of the ceasefire and defend our security."

On Sunday, Israel said it carried out strikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah military sites, as official media reported three raids in the country's east.

The National News Agency also said Israeli gunfire killed a woman in the border town of Hula on Sunday as people tried to go home.

Ramzi Kaiss from Human Rights Watch said Monday that "Israel's deliberate demolition of civilian homes and infrastructure" was making it "impossible for many residents to return".