As thousands try to return home, fragile Mideast ceasefires are tested

World view

- CHRISTINA GOLDBAUM, ISABEL KERSHNER, EUAN WARD and THOMAS FULLER The New York Times

The fragile ceasefires in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip were tested Sunday as Israeli forces killed or injured scores of people in southern Lebanon, Lebanese officials said, while in Gaza, Israel prevented Palestinians from moving back to their homes, saying Hamas had violated the terms of the truce.

But by the end of the day in Gaza, Israel and Hamas said understandings had been reached via mediators to resolve their dispute.

And the White House issued a statement indicating that in Lebanon, an arrangement for an initial 60-day truce that had called for the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the southern part of the country by Sunday would be extended until Feb. 18.