3 dead in Lebanon amid protests as Israeli forces remain after the withdrawal deadline
Mays Al-Jabal: At least three people were killed and about 30 others were injured in southern Lebanon on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on demonstrators who violated roadblocks set up by the Israeli army a day earlier.
Protesters, some carrying Hezbollah flagsattempted to enter several villages in the border area to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline set in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hesballah war in late November.
Israel said it needed to stay longer because the Lebanese army had not been deployed in all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah would not be re-established in the region. The Lebanese army said it could not be deployed until Israeli forces withdrew.
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 this issue at the highest levels to ensure your rights and dignity.”
He urged them to “exercise restraint and trust in the Lebanese Armed Forces.”
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said in a statement that one demonstrator was killed and 10 others were injured in the border village of Hula. Another protester was killed in the village of Aitaroun and nine injured. A third protester was killed in the village of Blida. The Ministry of Health also reported infections in the areas of Odyssey, Rab Thalatin and Kfar Kila.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the protests.
The IDF’s Arabic language spokesman called out Sunday morning in a post on X for residents of the border area not to try to return to their villages.
The AP team was stranded overnight at a base of the UN peacekeeping force known as Unifil near Mays al-Jabal after the Israeli military set up roadblocks on Saturday as they joined a patrol by peacekeepers. Journalists reported hearing gunshots and booming noises Sunday morning from the base, and peacekeepers said dozens of protesters gathered nearby.
