Israeli Forces Kill 22 in Lebanon After Refusing to Withdraw from South

The Israeli military’s actions violated the ceasefire agreement, which required its forces to withdraw from Lebanon by Sunday.

Sun Jan 26 2025
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KEY POINTS

  • Israeli forces killed 22 people in southern Lebanon on the day they were supposed to withdraw.
  • Israel refuses to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon under the truce deal.
  • Israel cites the Lebanese army’s failure to disarm Hezbollah.
  • Lebanon’s leadership calls for international intervention to ensure Israel’s withdrawal.

 

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Israeli forces killed 22 people and injured 124 in southern Lebanon on the day they were supposed to withdraw under a ceasefire agreement, but instead opened fire on thousands of civilians attempting to return to their homes, Lebanese authorities said on Sunday.

In a statement, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that at least 124 people were also wounded in the Israeli army’s fire.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had issued a statement telling residents of more than 60 villages in southern Lebanon to not go back.

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An ambulance and people gather on a road in southern Lebanon, after Israel’s military said they fired warning shots when they identified suspects approaching Israeli troops, as seen from northern Israel
—Photo from Social media

The Israeli killings violate a ceasefire agreement reached in November, under which its forces were supposed to withdraw from Lebanon on Sunday.

Israel said on Friday it would keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline set out in a US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year’s war with Hezbollah. Israel said Lebanon had not yet fully enforced terms requiring south Lebanon to be free of Hezbollah arms and the Lebanese army to be deployed.

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Destruction in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect
—Photo from Social media

Lebanon’s military, which reported one of its soldiers among those killed by Israeli forces on Sunday, has accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.

Israel refuses to withdraw from Lebanon

Lebanon’s health ministry said 22 people were killed and another 124 wounded in numerous locations in the south, as a result of Israeli attacks on citizens while they were trying to enter their towns.

The Israeli military said that its troops “operating in southern Lebanon fired warning shots to remove threats in a number of areas.”

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Members of the Lebanese army secure the area in Burj al-Muluk, near the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila
—Photo from Social media

Al Jazeera cited the Israeli military as saying that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army is not doing its job to ensure Hezbollah is disarmed and its military infrastructure dismantled.

Lebanon’s Al-Manar television, broadcasting from several locations in the south, showed footage of residents moving toward villages early on Sunday, some holding the Hezbollah’s flag and images of Hezbollah fighters killed in the war.

Hezbollah has put the onus on the Lebanese state to ensure Israel’s withdrawal.

Lebanon committed to ceasefire deal

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Lebanon is committed to the ceasefire deal but that Israel had turned against it with US support. The White House said on Friday that a short, temporary ceasefire extension was urgently needed.

“What is happening in the border villages is a liberation by the power of the people, and our people will not be broken by the Israeli army,” he said as quoted by the Reuters news agency. “We want the state to play its full role, and the army to be deployed in the villages.”

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Locals gather with flags in Burj al-Muluk, near southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila
—Photo from Social media

The top UN official in Lebanon and the head of the UN peacekeepers in the south said conditions were “not yet in place” for the safe return of Lebanese citizens to villages near the border.

“The fact is that the timelines envisaged” in the ceasefire “have not been met,” they said in a statement.

The ceasefire agreement set out a 60-day timeline for implementation.

Ceasefire agreement

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun called on the people of the south to exercise self-restraint and trust in the Lebanese military.

“‎Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, and I am following up on this issue at the highest levels to ensure your rights and dignity,” he said in a statement.

Israel has not said how long its forces would remain in the south.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army was to deploy alongside the United Nations peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdrew from the area over the 60-day period.

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.

Lebanon parliament’s Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that Sunday’s bloodshed “is a clear and urgent call for the international community to act immediately and compel Israel to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories”.

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