Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 15 and injuring more than 80, Lebanese health officials reported.
The dead included two women and a Lebanese army soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement. People were reported wounded in more than a dozen villages in the border area.
Demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.
Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish its presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement addressing the people of southern Lebanon on Sunday that “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 urged them to “exercise self-restraint and trust in the Lebanese Armed Forces.” The Lebanese army, in a separate statement, said it was escorting civilians into some towns in the border area and called on residents to follow military instructions to ensure their safety.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal Movement party is allied with Hezbollah and who served as an interlocutor between the militant group and the U.S. during ceasefire negotiations, said 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.”
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the head of mission of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, called in a joint statement for both Israel and Lebanon to comply with their obligations under the ceasefire agreement.
“The fact is that the timelines envisaged in the November Understanding have not been met,” the statement said. “As seen tragically this morning, conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line.”
UNIFIL said that further violence risks undermining the fragile security situation in the area and “prospects for stability ushered in by the cessation of hostilities and the formation of a government in Lebanon.”
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In the village of Aita al Shaab, families wandered over flattened concrete structures looking for remnants of the homes they left behind. No Israeli forces were present.
“These are our houses,” said Hussein Bajouk, one of the returning residents. “However much they destroy, we will rebuild.”
Bajouk added that he is convinced that former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs in September, is really still alive.
“I don’t know how much we’re going to wait, another month or two months… but the Sayyed will come out and speak,” he said using an honorific for Nasrallah.
On the other side of the border in the kibbutz of Manara, Orna Weinberg surveyed the devastation of the recent conflict on her neighbors and the Lebanese villages on the other side of the frontier. The sound of gunfire sporadically popped in the distance.
“Unfortunately, we have no way of defending our own children without harming their children,” Weinberg, 58, said. “It’s a tragedy to all sides.”
Some 112,000 Lebanese remain displaced, out of over 1 million who fled their homes during the war.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
**Conclusion:** The situation in southern Lebanon remains precarious, with protesters demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the international community urging compliance with the ceasefire agreement. The Lebanese government has called for restraint and trust in the military, while the U.N. has warned of the risks of further violence.
**FAQs:
Q: What is the current situation in southern Lebanon?
A: The situation remains volatile, with protests and violence continuing to erupt despite the ceasefire agreement.
Q: What are the demands of the protesters?
A: Protesters are demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
Q: What is the response of the international community?
A: The U.N. and other international organizations are urging compliance with the ceasefire agreement and calling for restraint and diplomacy to resolve the situation.
Q: How many Lebanese are still displaced?
A: According to the U.N., some 112,000 Lebanese remain displaced, out of over 1 million who fled their homes during the war.