Israel said its military had been instructed to use "full force" against threats in Lebanon despite a truce, and vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with state media reporting demolitions were underway on Sunday.

Some displaced residents have rushed back to their homes in the south but others are hesitant, uncertain about the durability of the 10-day truce that came into effect on Friday, halting weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel's army said Monday it had determined that an image circulating on social media showing one of its soldiers in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic.

The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head on a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross.

Israel's military on Monday warned Lebanese civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah's activities in the area were violating a ceasefire agreement struck last week.

Thousands of displaced residents have begun making their way back to parts of southern Lebanon since the truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Friday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that the military had been instructed to use "full force" in Lebanon -- even during the ongoing ceasefire -- should Israeli troops face any threat.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF (army) to act with full force, both on the ground and from the air, including during the ceasefire, in order to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat," Katz said at a function in the occupied West Bank.

Turkey on Sunday accused Israel of seeking to create a "fait accompli" in Lebanon despite an agreed ceasefire, with the foreign minister denouncing "Israeli expansionism".

"The ongoing Iran–United States negotiations seem to be overshadowing this situation (in Lebanon). Israel appears to be trying to take advantage of this distraction to create a fait accompli," Hakan Fidan said.

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, the Elysee said, as a fragile 10-day truce holds between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The visit highlights Macron's commitment to seeing "full and complete respect for the ceasefire in Lebanon" as well as France's support for Lebanon's "territorial integrity", the president's office said on Sunday.

Syria's interior ministry said Sunday that security forces thwarted an alleged cross-border attack from the country's territory planned by remnants of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad and cells linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Speaking at the end of his Mass in Kilamba, Angola, Pope Leo said the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was a “sign of relief for the Lebanese people.”

The Israeli army says it carried out a series of strikes that killed more than 150 Hezbollah fighters just before the ceasefire.

Lebanon's military said Sunday it had reopened a road and bridge damaged by Israeli strikes in the country's south, as a 10-day truce holds between Hezbollah and Israel.