Israeli forces kill two in southern Lebanon as displaced people try to return Israel attacks Lebanon news

Israeli forces shot at least two people and left 17 wounded on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said. The Israeli soldiers remain.

The shootings came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when He opened fire on the demonstrators Who violated roadblocks along the border.

Under a US ceasefire on 27 November, Israeli forces were withdrawing from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah had to move north of the Litiani River, about 30 km (20 mi) from the border, by 26 January.

While the Lebanese Army and the United Nations had already deployed in several villages before the deadline, Israeli forces remain In more than ten villages.

The United States and Lebanon announced on Sunday that the deadline to meet ceasefire conditions had been extended to February 18.

Protests resumed on Monday, especially in eastern border villages as residents once again tried to return to their homes.

Israeli forces opened fire, killing one person in the town of Odesice and wounding seven others in four southern villages, the Health Ministry said.

The Israeli military blamed Hezbollah for prompting people to protest and said soldiers fired warning shots when the demonstrators approached.

In the village of Aitaroun on Monday, dozens of unarmed residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, walked by hand or rode motorcycles, accompanied by ambulances, bulldozers and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the city but were stopped by Israeli positions, unable to enter.

“We are coming with our heads high and culminating in the victory over our village, Aitaroun,” Salim MRAD, the mayor, told the Associated Press news agency. “Our village is our cause, and we will return it more beautiful than it was before. We are staying.”

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance to the southern village of Yaron to deter residents from moving forward.

In the town of Bint Jbeil, Hezbollah members distributed leaflets featuring the killing leader Hassan Nasrallahwho was killed in an Israeli air strike in September, with the words: “Victory has arrived.” Some residents waved Hezbollah flags.

“They think they are scaring us with their bullets, but we were living under bombing, and bullets do not scare us,” Mona Bazi told the news agency in Bint Jabil.

Al Jazeera’s Zina Khoudar, reporting from Lebanon’s capital Beirut, said the protests are a show of defiance by Hezbollah and its supporters.

“Hezbollah has been severely weakened by the war last year, but this is a message from the group that it has not been destroyed and continues to have influence in this country,” she said.

NNA reported on Monday that Lebanese “army reinforcements” had arrived near Mays al-Jabal, a border town where residents had gathered to side with the army.

The news agency added that Israeli forces “opened fire in the direction of the Lebanese army” near Mays al-Jebel, although no casualties were reported.

“We waited in a long line for hours but could not get in,” Mohamed Chowkir, 33, told AFP from Mays al-Jabal.

In Houla, where the Ministry of Health confirmed two cases, NNA reported that residents were able to enter after the Lebanese Army was deployed across several neighbourhoods.

Both sides traded accusations of delays in implementing the deal.

Israel blamed the Lebanese Army for not deploying to the area quickly enough, while the Lebanese Army accused Israel of halting its withdrawal, complicating deployment efforts.

On Sunday, the Lebanese Army confirmed that it had entered several border areas, including Dhayra, Maroun Ras and Aita Cheb.

Some family members who entered border villages on Sunday discovered the bodies of their relatives. Israeli attacks killed more than 4,000 people during the war.

Since it began the ceasefire, Israel has conducted almost daily operations such as house demolitions, bombings and air attacks in southern Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of violating the terms of the ceasefire by attempting to transfer weapons. Lebanon, in turn, accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations.

Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adri on Monday repeated his call for residents of south Lebanon to “wait” before returning.

Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said he does not expect major violence to return.

“Hezbollah no longer wants any further confrontation with Israel; its goal is to protect its achievements in Lebanon.