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The Israeli army on Friday allowed a large group of ultra-Orthodox JewsÌýto enter a tomb which they claim belongs to a rabbi close to a south Lebanon border village.

The group of Israelis entered what is traditionally known as the "Sheikh Al-Ibad Tomb" in southern Lebanon, on the outskirts of the village of Houla, most of which was left in ruins by the war fought last year between Israel and Hezbollah.

showing Israelis chanting and praying at the tomb were shared online.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews claim the tomb belongs to the ancient Jewish scholar Rabbi Rav Ashi. After Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, the site was split in half between both countries.

It was meant to be accessible to people from both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border, known as the Blue Line that is yet to be fully demarcated.

While the Israeli army had already organised religious visits to the tomb on the Israeli side of the border for years, the move on Friday saw Israelis cross into Lebanese territory, in violation of the ceasefire deal which ended last year’s war.

Israeli media claims it was an exceptional permit granted for 7 March, which marks the birth and death of the Prophet Moses in Jewish tradition. Ultra-Orthodox Jews visit several religious sites on this occasion.

Groups of Israelis had tried to cross the border at least twice before last month but were detained by Israeli soldiers. One incident saw Israelis pelt Israeli troops with stones after they were prevented from entering the tomb.

Crossing the Lebanese border is punishable by up to four years in prison in Israel.

Kandice Adriel, the spokesperson for theÌýUN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), told °®Âþµº that any unauthorised crossing of the Blue Line was a violation of the ceasefire deal.

"UNIFIL peacekeepers have been actively monitoring the situation at the tomb today. Our view is obscured by a screen the IDF [Israeli army] erected on a new fence they built around the tomb, north of the Blue Line, in violation of Resolution 1701," Adriel told TNA.

"However, it appears that Israeli civilians crossed the Blue Line around the tomb; the civilians have now left and the situation is calm."

Adopted after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 was never fully adopted, but now acts as the foundation of the existing ceasefire deal which says all of Lebanon must be under full state control and all militant groups disarmed.

Adriel toldÌýTNA that the Israeli army removed the existing fence at the tomb a few weeks ago and built a new one slightly north of the border. She says the army also installed concertina wire just north of the Blue Line, denying access from the Lebanese side.

"These are all in clear violation of UNSCR 1701. We formally protested the construction of the fence and other works around the north side of the tomb to the IDF and requested that they remove the works and restore the tomb and the area around it to its previous condition," she said.

Hezbollah opened a "support front" for Gaza in October 2023 as Israel carried out a brutal attack on the Palestinian territory, engaging in low-level cross-border hostilities which dramatically escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024 following a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has come out largely weakened from the war, which ended with a ceasefire deal in November last year, with much of its senior command structure eliminated and thousands of its fighters killed and injured.

Israel has maintained some troops in five strategic locations inside Lebanese territory along the border, saying this "buffer zone" was indefinite, violating the deal which stipulated that Israel completely withdraw.

The Israeli army has continued to launch strikes in south and east Lebanon along the border with Syria, claiming it was stopping any attempts to smuggle weapons for Hezbollah, while killing commanders from the group.

Lebanon has called on mediators US and France to exert further pressure on Israel to end its occupation of the southern areas and has reiterated that it was upholding its end of the ceasefire agreement.

"UNIFIL urges all actors to avoid any action that could upset the current, delicate stability. We continue to urge Israeli forces to withdraw from all parts of Lebanese territory, an we continue to support the Lebanese army in their deployment of the south," Adriel told TNA.