Israeli forces killed at least 22 people and injured more than 124 others on Sunday in southern Lebanon after protesters demanded their withdrawal in line with an agreement ceasefire agreement with HezbollahLebanese authorities said.
The dead included two women and a Lebanese army soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
Protesters, some carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw from southern Lebanon within the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement. fire that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah at the end of November. The White House announced on Sunday that the ceasefire had been extended until February 18.
“The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel, and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023,” the White House said.
Israel said Friday it would keep its troops in the south beyond Sunday’s deadline because the Lebanese army was not yet fully deployed to ensure Hezbollah does not re-establish its presence in the region. Meanwhile, the US-backed Lebanese army said it could not deploy until Israeli forces withdrew and accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.
The Israeli army accused Hezbollah of fueling Sunday’s protests.
He said in a statement that his troops fired warning shots to “eliminate threats in a number of areas where suspects have been identified approaching.” He added that a number of suspects near Israeli troops had been apprehended and were being questioned.
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The development in Lebanon comes as Israel on Sunday blocked thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it released .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Sunday that Hamas would release three hostages, civilian Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger and another unidentified hostage, on Thursday and three others on Saturday.
“As part of these agreements, Israel will allow the passage of Gazans to the northern Gaza Strip starting tomorrow morning,” Netanyahu said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement addressed to the people of southern Lebanon on Sunday that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon are non-negotiable, and I will follow this issue at the highest levels to guarantee your rights and your dignity “.
He urged them to “show restraint and trust the Lebanese armed forces.” The Lebanese army, in a separate statement, said it was escorting civilians in some towns in the border area and called on residents to follow military instructions to ensure their safety.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal Movement party is allied with Hezbollah and who served as an interlocutor between the militant group and the United States during ceasefire negotiations, said the outpouring of Blood Sunday “is a clear and urgent call to the international community to act immediately and compel Israel to withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories.
An Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, posted on Arabic”.
He warned residents in the border area not to attempt to return to their villages.
“The IDF does not intend to target you and therefore at this stage you are prohibited from returning home from this southern line until further notice. Anyone traveling south of this line is in danger,” he said.
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The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of the mission of the United Nations peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro, called in a joint statement Israel and Lebanon to respect their obligations under the ceasefire agreement.
“The fact is that the deadlines envisaged in the November agreement have not been respected,” the statement said. “As we saw tragically this morning, the conditions are not yet ripe for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line. »
UNIFIL said further violence risked undermining the fragile security situation in the region and “the prospects for stability opened up by the cessation of hostilities and the formation of a government in Lebanon.”
It calls for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, the removal of unauthorized weapons and goods south of the Litani River, the redeployment of the Lebanese army throughout southern Lebanon and to ensure the safe and dignified return of civilians displaced from both sides of the Blue River. Double.
A PA team was stranded overnight at a UNIFIL base near Mays al-Jabal after the Israeli army set up roadblocks on Saturday as they joined a patrol of security forces. peace. Journalists reported hearing gunshots and thuds Sunday morning from the base, and peacekeepers said dozens of protesters had gathered nearby.
In the village of Aita al Shaab, families wandered across flattened concrete structures searching for the remains of the homes they had left behind. No Israeli forces were present.
“These are our homes,” said Hussein Bajouk, one of the returning residents. “Even if they destroy, we will rebuild. »
Bilal Hussein / AP
Bajouk added that he is convinced that former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs in September, is actually still alive.
“I don’t know how long we will wait, another month or two… but the Sayyed will come and speak,” he said, using an honorific for Nasrallah.
Across the border, in Kibbutz Manara, Orna Weinberg saw the devastation of the recent conflict on her neighbors and the Lebanese villages across the border. The sound of gunshots echoed sporadically in the distance.
“Unfortunately, we have no way to defend our own children without harming their children,” said Weinberg, 58. “This is a tragedy for all parties.”
Some 112,000 Lebanese remain displaced, out of more than a million who fled their homes during the war.