Gaza
\nIsraeli forces killed three people and wounded 31 others trying to return to homes in south Lebanon where Israeli troops remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed on Sunday, Lebanon\u2019s health ministry said.
\nIsrael has said it intended to keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline stipulated in the US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year\u2019s war with Hezbollah, and on Sunday ordered residents not to return until further notice.
\nThe deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from the south as the Iran-backed Hezbollah\u2019s weapons and fighters were removed from the area and the Lebanese army deployed, within a 60-day period which ended on Sunday morning.
\nIsrael has, however, said the terms have not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, while Lebanon\u2019s US-backed military on Sunday accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.
\nHezbollah\u2019s al-Manar television, broadcasting from several locations in the south, showed footage of residents moving towards villages in defiance of Israeli orders, some holding the group\u2019s flag and images of Hezbollah fighters killed in the war.
\nThe Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed in the village of Houla, another in Aitaroun, and a third in Blida as a result of what it described as Israeli attacks on citizens while they were trying to enter their still-occupied towns.
\nThe Israeli military had no immediate comment on the reported casualties.
\nAn Israeli military spokesperson, in a post on X addressed to the people of south Lebanon, accused Hezbollah of trying to \u201cheat up the situation\u201d and said the Israeli army would \u201cin the near future\u201d inform them of places to which they can return. Hezbollah, badly weakened by Israel during the war, has put the onus on the Lebanese state to ensure Israel\u2019s withdrawal, describing Israel\u2019s failure to withdraw on time as a violation of the agreement.
\n\u201cWe are in our land and the enemy is the one who turned against the agreement and violated the agreement, and thus the people are the ones who are liberating their land with their own hands and blood,\u201d Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, speaking to the group\u2019s al-Manar television, said.
\n\u201cWe want the state to play its role,\u201d he added. The White House said on Friday that a short, temporary ceasefire extension was urgently needed.
\nLebanese President Joseph Aoun, who was head of the U.S.-backed Lebanese army until parliament elected him head of state on Jan. 9, called on the people of the south to exercise self-restraint and trust in the Lebanese military.
\n\u201c?Lebanon\u2019s 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,\u201d he said in a statement.
\nIsrael has not said how long its forces would remain in the south, where the Israeli military says it has been seizing Hezbollah weapons and dismantling its infrastructure.
\nThe Hezbollah-Israel conflict was fought in parallel with the Gaza war, and peaked in a major Israeli offensive against Hezbollah that uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon and left the militant group badly weakened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza Israeli forces killed three people and wounded 31 others trying to return to homes in south Lebanon where Israeli troops remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed on Sunday, Lebanon\u2019s health ministry said. Israel has said it intended to keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline stipulated in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-457728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n