Israeli forces kill 15 in south Lebanon as residents try to return

Israeli forces killed 15 people in south Lebanon on Jan 26 as a deadline for their withdrawal passed and thousands of people tried to return to their homes in defiance of Israeli military orders, the Lebanese authorities said.

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BEIRUT - Israel said on Jan 24 it would keep troops in the south beyond the Jan 26 deadline set out in a US-brokered ceasefire that halted its war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying Lebanon had not yet fully enforced terms requiring south Lebanon to be free of Hezbollah arms and the Lebanese army to be deployed.

Lebanon's military, which reported one of its soldiers among those killed by Israeli forces on Jan 26, has accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.

The Hezbollah-Israel conflict was fought in parallel with the Gaza war, and peaked in a major Israeli offensive that uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon and left the Iran-backed group badly weakened.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said 15 people were killed and another 83 wounded in numerous locations in the south, as a result of what it described as Israeli attacks on citizens while they were trying to enter their still-occupied towns.

The ministry had previously said the "aggression" had centred on the two villages of Houla and Kfar Kila.

The Israeli military said that its troops "operating in southern Lebanon fired warning shots to remove threats in a number of areas where suspects were identified approaching the troops". It also said "a number of suspects... that posed an imminent threat" were apprehended.