At Least 15 People Were Killed and more than 80 Injured by Israeli Forces on Sunday in Southern Lebanon, Lebanese Officials Said, As the 60-day deadline for Both Hezbollah and Israel to withdraw from the South Expired and Thousands of Lebanese Displaced by the War Poured On the roads leading south to their houses.
THE agreementwhich was signed in November and interrupted the deadliest war for decades between the two parties, stipulated that Hezbollah and Israel withdraw, while the Lebanese army and the soldiers of the United Nations would be deployed in vigor to secure the region. The negotiators hoped that the Cessor’s agreement would become permanent, returning a measure of calm in a turbulent region.
But while the deadline passed Sunday, a very different scenario took shape.
Israeli forces have remained in certain parts of southern Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire agreement, attaching fears of a sustained Israeli occupation and renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli officials have warned the Lebanese not to return home to many cities and villages in the south.
“In the near future, we will continue to inform you of the places you can come back,” said Arab army spokesman for the Arab army on Sunday morning. “Until further notice, all of the previously published instructions remain in force.”
The Lebanon Ministry of Health said that people killed and injured on Sunday morning had tried to enter their villages along the border when they were attacked by Israeli forces. Residents of certain southern cities called on their neighbors to meet early Sunday morning and go home to a convoy, despite the warnings of Israel. The Lebanese army said it accompanied civilians who returned to several border cities to try to ensure their security. The army said in a statement that a Lebanese soldier was one of the people killed by an Israeli fire.
He marked one of the deadliest days in Lebanon since the cease-fire came into force in November.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it had drawn “warning shots” after which it described as “suspects” approached their forces. He also said that an unspecified number of people had been arrested and were now questioned.
In the southern city of Aita al-Shaab, a large part of which is now in ruina lot started to flow at their home on Sunday, arriving in flat street streets and buildings.
Mohamed Srour, the mayor of the city, was among those who returned after being moved for more than a year. He said the Israeli soldiers had not yet completely removed from the city and said they were shooting in civilians. Complaints could not be checked independently. However, Mr. Srour remained resolved.
“Today, Aita celebrates the long -awaited return.” He said. “The houses are destroyed and the means of subsistence have disappeared, but our desire to live is stronger. We will come back again.
In recent days, Israeli officials have City of concerns that Hezbollah remains active in southern Lebanon and doubt The Lebanese army’s ability to thwart band.
These complaints could not be verified independently and the committee of five members supervising the implementation of the ceasefire did not publish any information concerning the respect of Hezbollah with the terms of the truce.
The situation sets a critical test for new leaders in Lebanon, president Joseph Aoun and the designated Prime Minister Nawaf SalamAs they seek to retaliate a little political control in Hezbollah, the dominant political and military force of the country, and to build a functional state. Mr. Aoun urged civilians to exercise restraint on Sunday, but stressed that the country’s sovereignty was “non -negotiable”.
Any prolonged Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon could breathe new life into Hezbollah, a group that has been founded to release Lebanon from Israeli occupation and which has described itself as the only force capable of protecting the borders of Lebanon, according to Experts.
He also threatens to derail the current political momentum in Lebanon, where for the first time for decades, there is a strong push to consolidate all the military power of the State and eliminate the justification of Hezbollah for its vast arsenal.
The Focus in Lebanon Now is Toward “Disarming Hezbollah and Transitioning from the era in which Hezbollah was seen as having the right to acquire weapons,” Said Mohanad Hage Ali, the Deputy Director for Research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Any prolonged Israeli occupation “would put the ruptures on this momentum, which occurs organically,” he added.
Hezbollah officials did not respond to the accusations of Israel that the group remained militarily active in southern Lebanon, but said they were “committed” to maintain the terms of the truce.
On Saturday, Lebanese army officials said they were ready to finish their deployment in the South. This month, the American general supervising the cease-fire surveillance committee expressed confidence in the Lebanese army’s ability to secure southern Lebanon. The army continues to demonstrate that “it has the capacity, intention and leadership to secure and defend Lebanon,” said major-general Jasper Jeffers a declaration.
The 60 -day truce came into force more than a year after Hezbollah began to pull rockets towards Israeli positions in solidarity with its ally Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in Gaza which led on October 7, 2023, attack against Israel. Israel retaliated by murder the leadership of HezbollahLevel the towns and villages along the border and invade southern Lebanon.
Even before the deadline on Sunday, thousands of Lebanese who were moved by the war of houses along the southern border were preparing to return home. On Saturday, the main highway leading Beirut south of Lebanon was filled with cars, even though people received automated phone calls from the Israeli army warning them not to go home.
Israeli forces seemed to be continuous efforts that persisted during the 60 -day truce for the bulldoze and block the roads between certain villages in southern Lebanon, according to local media. Israel currently occupies about 70% of the areas it captured after invading Lebanon last fall, According to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in South Lebanon.
Hezbollah did not say how he planned to respond to the continuous occupation of Israel of the Lebanese soil. Some Hezbollah legislators have promised any reprisals. But other Hezbollah officials Rather moved the responsibility to respond to Israel to the Lebanese government. Friday, the group’s declaration said that it belonged to the State “to recover the land and to divert it from the grip of the occupation”.
This change of responsibility is a tactic proven for Hezbollah, which barely a few months ago called on the State to predict thousands of Lebanese moved by a war in which he had pulled the country. However, the political posture of a group whose founding principle resists the Israeli occupation reflects the current state of Hezbollah.
After 14 months of fighting, the military ranks of the Shiite Muslim group are beaten and its faithful support base is tired. His boss Iran was also weakened by Israel. And in neighboring Syria, the rebels overthrew an ally of Iran, the dictator Bashar al-Assad, cutting the terrestrial bridge of Hezbollah to receive weapons and money from Iran.
These blows released the formerly seizure of Hezbollah on political power in Lebanon, deploying the country’s political sands for the first time in decades. This month, Lebanese legislators elected a new president, Mr. Aoun, after years of political printing that many analysts had allocated to Hezbollah. A few days later, the legislators appointed Mr. Salam, an eminent diplomat to whom Hezbollah had been opposed for a long time, as Prime Minister.
However, experts from the Middle East warned against the cancellation of Hezbollah’s political weight. And if Israel continues to occupy Lebanon, it could revitalize the mainly Shiite Muslim support base of the group because it is looking for a boss and a protector against Israeli forces.
“I believe that none of the parties has an interest in resuming war,” said Sami Nader, director of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Saint-Joseph de Beirut. “But as long as Israel occupies Lebanon, it revives the story of Hezbollah.”
Hwaida Saad,, Dayana Iwaza And Sara Chaito contributed the reports.
