Israel kills 4, wounds dozens in south Lebanon in breach of ceasefire deal

A Lebanese soldier was among the at least four people killed by Israel in south Lebanon on the day the Israeli forces were scheduled to leave under a ceasefire agreement.

According to the Lebanoni Ministry of Public Health, at least 32 civilians were injured on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on “citizens who were trying to return to their villages” in at least two border towns.

According to a statement from the Lebanese army, an Israeli fire in Mais al-Jabal village claimed the lives of one soldier and injured another.

Residents of more than 60 villages in south Lebanon were instructed not to return in a message by Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee earlier on Sunday.

The Israeli killings go against a November ceasefire agreement, which stipulates that Lebanon’s forces should leave on Sunday at 22:00 GMT.

Hezbollah has not yet returned from the border region, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who blames Lebanon for the delay. Israel has been urged to respect the deadline by Lebanon, which denies the claim.

The Israeli military claims it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army isn’t doing its job to ensure Hezbollah’s disarmament and its military infrastructure, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr, who is based in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah is still present, according to the Israelis, who claim that there aren’t enough Lebanese soldiers on the ground. These claims don’t have any independent confirmation, she said.

“People here have been evicted from their homes for more than a year. According to them, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces should have withdrawn. The 60-day deadline has passed”.

As the Israeli army withdrew from the area over the course of the 60-day period, the Lebanese army was scheduled to deploy alongside the UN peacekeepers in the south in accordance with the terms of the truce.

Hezbollah agreed to pull back its forces north of the Litani River, about 30km (19 miles) from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

The deal, brokered by the United States and France in November, ended more than a year of fighting triggered by Israel’s war on Gaza.

Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanon’s parliament and the leader of the Amal Movement, said in a statement that the bloodshed “is a clear and urgent call for the international community to immediately intervene and compel Israel to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.”

During the ceasefire negotiations, Berri had acted as a mediator for the group and the US.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the UN envoy in Lebanon and the chief of the UN peacekeeping mission to Lebanon (UNIFIL) said conditions are “not yet in place” for the safe return of Lebanese citizens to southern Lebanon.

They urged recommitment from both Israel and Lebanon, claiming that the deadlines set by the ceasefire agreement were broken.