Lebanon says Israeli fire kills 2 as residents try to go home

BURJ AL MULUK, Lebanon – Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli fire killed two people on Jan 27 and wounded 17 others in the south, in a second day of violence as residents tried again to return to border villages.

The bloodshed, which one analyst said was unlikely to re-spark war, came hours after the extension of a deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from south Lebanon under a November ceasefire deal.

The ministry said Israeli fire killed 24 returnees on Jan 26.

“Israeli enemy attacks as citizens attempt to return to their towns that are still occupied have led... to one dead and seven wounded,” the Health Ministry said in a Jan 27 statement.

It reported one dead and two wounded in the border town of Adaisseh, with others wounded in Bani Hayyan, including a child, as well as in Yarun and Hula.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said earlier on Jan 27 that Lebanon had agreed to an extension of the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel until Feb 18, after the Israeli military missed the Jan 26 deadline to withdraw.

In south Lebanon, residents accompanied by the army were again trying to return to their villages, official media and AFP correspondents reported.

In the village of Burj al-Muluk, an AFP photographer saw dozens of men, women and children gathering in the morning behind a dirt barrier, some holding yellow Hezbollah flags, hoping to reach the border town of Kfar Kila where the Israeli military is still deployed.

In the city of Bint Jbeil, an access point for many border villages, Hezbollah supporters were distributing sweets, water and images of former chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September.

Others handed out stickers celebrating the “victory from God” as women held pictures of slain Hezbollah fighters.

“They think they are scaring us with their bullets, but we lived under the bombing and bullets don’t scare us,” said Ms Mona Bazzi in Bint Jbeil.

The official National News Agency (NNA) said Lebanese army reinforcements had arrived near the border town of Mais al-Jabal, where people had started to gather at the entrance of the town in preparation for entering alongside the military.

It said the Israeli army had opened fire in the direction of the Lebanese army near the town, without reporting casualties there.

“We waited in a long line for hours, but couldn’t enter,” said Mr Mohammed Choukeir, 33, from Mais al-Jabal, adding that Israeli troops “were opening fire from time to time on civilians gathered at the entrance of the town”.

In nearby Hula, where the Health Ministry reported two wounded, the NNA said residents entered after the deployment of the army in several neighbourhoods.

Under the ceasefire deal that took effect on Nov 27, the Lebanese military was to deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period, which ended on Jan 26.

Hezbollah was also to pull back its forces north of the Litani River – about 30km from the border.

Both sides have traded blame for delays in implementing the deal, which came after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war.

Lebanon’s army said on Jan 26 that it had entered several border areas, including Dhayra, Maroun al-Ras and Aita al-Shaab.

An AFP photographer in Aita al-Shaab on Jan 27 saw widespread destruction, with newly returned families among the ruins of their homes, as bulldozers worked to open roads and rescue teams searched for any bodies remaining from the conflict.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Jan 27 called again for south Lebanon residents to wait before returning.

Political science professor Hilal Khashan of the American University of Beirut said he did not expect a return to major violence.

“Hezbollah no longer wants any further confrontation with Israel, its goal is to protect its achievements in Lebanon,” he said.

The Health Ministry said on Jan 27 that Israeli fire killed 24 people who were trying to return to their villages the previous day, updating an earlier toll of 22 dead.

The Israeli military said soldiers “fired warning shots to remove threats” where “suspects were identified approaching the troops”.

The Lebanese army said on Jan 26 it would “continue to accompany residents” returning to the south and “protect them from Israeli attacks”. AFP