Israel forces kill two in south Lebanon as displaced people try to return

In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces shot at protesters on Monday as residents tried to return to their homes, killing at least two people and wounding 17. This was the second day that displaced residents attempted to return to their villages, where Israeli soldiers were still stationed, following a 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The previous day, Israeli forces had opened fire on protesters who broke through border roadblocks, killing 24 and wounding more than 130. According to a US-brokered ceasefire agreement on November 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, and Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border.

Although Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers had deployed to several villages before the deadline, Israeli forces remained in over a dozen. The US and Lebanon announced on Sunday that the deadline for adhering to the ceasefire had been extended to February 18. On Monday, protests broke out again, particularly in eastern border villages, as residents again attempted to return home.

According to the Ministry of Health, Israeli forces opened fire, killing one person in the town of Aadaysseh and wounding seven in four southern villages. The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of inciting people to protest and said that soldiers fired warning shots when demonstrators approached. In the village of Aitaroun on Monday, large groups of unarmed residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, marched hand-in-hand or on motorbikes, escorted by ambulances, bulldozers, and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the town but stopped before Israeli positions, unable to enter.

“We are returning to our village, Aitaroun, with our heads held high and the crown of victory,” the city’s mayor, Salim Mrad, told the Associated Press. “Our village is ours, and we will bring it back, more beautiful than before. We will stay here.” Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance to the southern village of Yaroun to stop residents from advancing further. In the town of Bint Jbeil, Hezbollah members distributed leaflets featuring the image of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader who died in an Israeli airstrike last September, with the words: "Victory has come." Some residents waved Hezbollah flags.

“They thought they would scare us with bullets, but we have been through bombings, and bullets don’t scare us,” Mona Bazzi told AFP in Bint Jbeil. Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, said the protests were a show of defiance by Hezbollah and its supporters. “Hezbollah was very weakened in last year’s war, but this is a message from the group that it has not been destroyed and it still has influence in this country,” she said.

NNA reported on Monday that Lebanese “reinforcements” had arrived near Mays al-Jabal, a border town where residents were gathering to enter with the army. The agency added that Israeli forces “opened fire in the direction of the Lebanese army” in the vicinity of Mays al-Jabal, but there were no reports of casualties. “We queued for hours but were unable to enter,” 33-year-old Mohammed Choker told AFP from Mays al-Jabal, noting that Israeli forces were firing from time to time at civilians gathered at the town's entrance.

In Houla, where the Ministry of Health confirmed two injuries, NNA reported that residents had successfully entered after the Lebanese army deployed to several communities. Both sides accused each other of delays in implementing the agreement. Israel accused the Lebanese army of not deploying quickly enough to the area, while the Lebanese military accused Israel of delaying its withdrawal, complicating their deployment efforts. On Sunday, the Lebanese army confirmed that it had entered several border areas, including Dhayra, Maroun al-Ras, and Aita al-Shaab.

Some family members who entered border villages on Sunday found the bodies of their relatives. More than 4,000 people died in Israeli attacks during the war. Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has carried out almost daily operations in southern Lebanon, such as house demolitions, shelling, and airstrikes, accusing Hezbollah of trying to transfer weapons in violation of the ceasefire. Lebanon, in turn, has accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee reiterated on Monday his call for residents of southern Lebanon to "wait" before returning. Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said he did not think there would be any major violence again. “Hezbollah does not want any further confrontation with Israel; its goal is to protect its achievements in Lebanon,” he told AFP.