IDF Kills 15 in Lebanon as Thousands Attempt to Return to Their Homes in Defiance of Israeli Military Orders

Israeli soldiers have killed 15 people and wounded more than 80 in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry says, as the Israeli military remained in parts of the country after the expiration of a deadline for their withdrawal, and Hezbollah's removal from the area. On Sunday morning, thousands of residents returned to towns and villages along the border, despite warnings by the Lebanese and Israeli armies, and the UN, that the region remained unsafe. Israel said the 60-day ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah had not been fully implemented, and it remained unclear how many of its soldiers remained in Lebanon or how long they would stay. According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israeli forces attacked people as they tried to enter locations that were still under occupation. The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers had been killed and another wounded by Israeli fire.

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 15 and injuring more than 80, Lebanese health officials reported. The dead included two women and a Lebanese army soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement. People were reported wounded in more than a dozen villages in the border area. Demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.

Israeli forces also announced Friday that they will not fully withdraw from southern Lebanon as the ceasefire requires until the Lebanese government fully implements its own responsibilities. According to the agreement, both groups were expected to make withdrawals by Sunday. "IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon fired warning shots to remove threats in a number of areas where suspects were identified approaching the troops," the IDF wrote in a Sunday statement. "Additionally, a number of suspects in proximity to IDF troops that posed an imminent threat to the troops were apprehended and are currently being questioned at the scene."