Fifteen killed as southern Lebanese residents defy Israeli orders not to return home.
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At least fifteen people have been killed and 83 others wounded by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, after residents of border villages defied Israeli army orders not to return home.
The deaths come after a deadline expired on Sunday for Israel to withdraw its forces from the area, as part of a ceasefire agreement that ended months of conflict with Hezbollah.
Under the November ceasefire agreement, Israeli and Hezbollah forces agreed to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, at the end of a 60-day period set out in the "agreement."
The 7th Israeli military brigade in southern Lebanon, January 2025.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said the Israeli military launched attacks on Sunday against Lebanese citizens who tried to enter towns still occupied by Israeli forces. Among those killed was a soldier "targeted by Israeli enemy fire," the Lebanese army said.
Video verified by CNN shows residents on foot in Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon trying to return to their villages. Some were seen carrying Hezbollah flags, while others held pictures of militant fighters killed in the war.
This comes after the Israeli military issued a new order on Sunday for residents of dozens of villages in southern Lebanon not to return to their homes.
"Urgent!! A new reminder to residents of southern Lebanon: until further notice, you are prohibited from traveling south to the village line and its surroundings," Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-language spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), wrote on X. The message included a map of southern Lebanon with an area along the border with Israel colored red and a list of more than 60 countries where residents were banned from entering.
A man carries an injured person in Burj al-Muluk on Sunday. A man carries an injured person in Burj al-Muluk on Sunday.
"The Defense Forces have no intention of targeting and therefore, at this stage, it is prohibited to return home from this line south until further notice. Anyone traveling south of this line is putting themselves at risk," Adraee said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops operating in southern Lebanon "fired warning shots to deter threats in a number of areas where suspects were identified as approaching troops."
The Israeli military added that it had detained several suspects for questioning, saying they posed an "immediate threat to troops."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was "monitoring this issue at the highest level" in a statement.
"Lebanon's sovereignty and the unity of its territory are not subject to compromise," he said, and promised southerners that he would "guarantee your rights and dignity."
The UN has called on both sides to urgently commit to the agreement, while its peacekeeping forces have said they will deploy to areas of southern Lebanon at the request of the Lebanese army.
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