2 killed in Lebanon amid protests as Israeli forces remain after withdrawal deadline

MAYS AL-JABAL, Lebanon (AP) — At least two people were killed and around 30 others injured in southern Lebanon Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on protesters who had breached roadblocks the Israeli army set up a day before, Lebanon’s health ministry reported.

Demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages in the border area to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.

Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish a military presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, addressing the people of southern Lebanon on Sunday via the X social media platform, said that “Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, and I am following up on this issue at the highest levels to ensure your rights and dignity.”

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said in a statement that one protester was killed and 10 others injured in the border village of Houla. Another protester was killed in the village of Aitaroun and nine injured. It also reported injuries in the areas of Odaisseh, Rab Thalatin and Kfar Kila.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the protests.

The Israeli army’s Arabic language spokesman called Sunday morning in a post on X for residents of the border area not to attempt to return to their villages.

An AP team was stranded overnight at a base of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL near Mays al-Jabal after the Israeli army erected roadblocks Saturday while they were joining a patrol by peacekeepers. The journalists reported hearing gunshots and booming sounds Sunday morning from the base, and peacekeepers said that dozens of protesters had gathered nearby.

Kareem Chehayeb And Abby Sewell, The Associated Press