THE Israeli army has killed at least 22 people in southern Lebanon on the day its forces were due to withdraw under a ceasefire deal, according to health officials.
In a statement, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that at least 124 people were also wounded as the Israeli army opened fire as people tried to return to their homes.
The death toll included a Lebanese soldier, according to a statement by Lebanon’s army.
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.
The Israeli killings violate a ceasefire agreement reached in November, under which its forces were supposed to withdraw from Lebanon at 02:00 GMT on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Lebanon for the delay, saying Hezbollah has not pulled back sufficiently from the border region. Lebanon denies the claim and has urged Israel to respect the deadline.
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.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Borj al-Mlouk in southern Lebanon, said the Israeli military claims it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army is not doing its job to ensure Hezbollah is disarmed and its military infrastructure dismantled.
“Israeli officials are saying there are not enough Lebanese troops on the ground and allege Hezbollah is still here. There is no independent confirmation concerning those claims,” Khodr said.
“People here have been displaced from their homes for more than a year. They believe the Israeli military should have withdrawn in line with the ceasefire agreement. The 60-day deadline has passed.”
