At least 22 people were killed and 124 others injured by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, as residents of villages near the border defied orders by Israel’s military not to return to their homes.
The deaths come as a deadline expired Sunday for Israel to withdraw forces from the area, as part of a ceasefire agreement that ended months of conflict with Hezbollah.
Under the November ceasefire agreement, both Israeli and Hezbollah forces agreed to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, the end of a 60-day period stipulated in the deal.
But Israel’s government said Friday that the military would not withdraw all of its forces from southern Lebanon by Sunday’s deadline, blaming Lebanon for failing to uphold its end of the agreement. The Lebanese army in turn accused Israel of “procrastination.”
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said the Israeli military launched attacks on Lebanese citizens on Sunday attempting to enter towns still occupied by Israeli forces.
Of those killed, one was a soldier “targeted by gunfire from the Israeli enemy,” the Lebanese army said.
Video verified by CNN showed residents on foot in Kfar Kila, southern Lebanon, trying to return to their villages. Some were seen carrying Hezbollah flags, while others held images of militant fighters killed in the war.
It comes after Israel’s military issued a fresh order on Sunday to residents of dozens of southern Lebanese villages not to return to their homes.
“Urgent!! A new reminder to the residents of southern Lebanon: Until further notice you are prohibited from moving south to the line of villages and their surroundings,” Avichay Adraee, Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), wrote on X.
The post included a map of southern Lebanon with an area along the border with Israel shaded red and a list of more than 60 villages residents were prohibited from accessing.
“The Defense Forces do not intend to target you and therefore at this stage you are prohibited from returning to your homes from this line south until further notice. Anyone who moves south of this line puts themselves at risk,” Adraee said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops operating in southern Lebanon “fired warning shots to remove threats in a number of areas where suspects were identified approaching the troops.”
The Israeli military added it had apprehended numerous suspects for questioning, claiming they posed and “imminent threat to the troops.”
Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun said he was “monitoring this issue at the highest levels” in a statement.
“Lebanon’s sovereignty and the unity of its territory are not subject to compromise,” he said and promised residents of the south he would “ensure your rights and dignity.”
The United Nations called on both sides to urgently recommit to the agreement while its peacekeeping force said it was deploying to areas in southern Lebanon at the request of the Lebanese army.
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron urged Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw his remaining forces from Lebanon in a phone call on Sunday, according to the French President’s office. France played a key role in brokering the ceasefire deal alongside the US last November.
CNN’s Saskya Vandoorne contributed reporting.
