BEIRUT (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed one person and wounded 17 others trying to return to homes in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal on Sunday, Lebanon's health ministry said.
Israel said it aimed to keep troops in the south beyond a Sunday deadline set in a US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year's war with Hezbollah, and on Saturday ordered residents not to return until further notice.
The deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from southern Lebanon as Iran-backed Hezbollah weapons and fighters were removed from the area and the Lebanese army was deployed, during a 60-day period that ended Sunday morning.
However, Israel said the conditions had not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, while the US-backed Lebanese army on Saturday accused Israel of accusing it of withdrawing.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that one person was killed and nine others were injured in the village of Hula as a result of what it said were Israeli attacks on citizens as they tried to enter their unoccupied towns.
She said eight other people in Kfar Kila.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Israel has not said how long its forces will remain in the south, where the IDF says it has been seizing Hezbollah's weapons and dismantling its infrastructure.
The Hezbollah-Israel conflict was fought in parallel with the Gaza War, culminating in a major Israeli offensive against Hezbollah that uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon and left the militant group weakened.
