► One dead and 17 injured
The Israeli army opened fire in at least two border towns on “citizens who were trying to return to their villages”leaving two dead and 32 injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
AFP correspondents saw on Sunday convoys of dozens of cars, brandishing the yellow flags of Lebanese Hezbollah, converging on several villages devastated by the war between the pro-Iranian formation and the Israeli army.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on residents to show “sang-froid” and to “have confidence in the Lebanese army”, “concerned with ensuring your safe return to your homes and villages”. The Lebanese army had advised residents not to go to areas still occupied by the Israeli army.
► The Israeli army still deployed despite the truce agreement
Under the agreement that ended the war on November 27, the Israeli army was to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon on Sunday, but Israel announced Friday that the operation would continue beyond the deadline of January 26.
-Under the agreement, only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers can now be deployed in southern Lebanon, from where the Israeli army was supposed to have completed its withdrawal on January 26. This has evacuated the entire coastal region of southern Lebanon, but still occupies areas further east.
Having emerged weakened from the war, Hezbollah declared on Thursday that “any violation of the 60-day deadline would be considered a flagrant violation of the agreement” of ceasefire. This would force the Lebanese state to use “all necessary means (…) to recover the land and wrest it from the clutches of occupation”added the movement, without threatening to resume its attacks.
Swiss
