Two killed and several injured in Israeli shooting in south Lebanon despite ceasefire extension

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Two people were killed and 17 injured when Israeli troops opened fire on displaced people trying to return to their homes in southern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

"Israeli enemy attacks as citizens attempt to return to their towns that are still occupied have led … to two dead and 17 wounded," the Health Ministry said on Monday, updating an earlier toll of one dead.

One victim was shot dead in the village of Odeisseh, while injuries were reported in the same village, as well as in Houla, Yaroun and Bani Haiyyan.

The Lebanese government earlier on Monday confirmed it had agreed to a three-week extension of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, after consultations with the US.

Washington said the US-brokered deal, initially set to expire on Sunday, would remain in effect until February 18. In recent days it said a short extension to the deal – and thus the continued presence of Israeli troops in Lebanon – was "urgently needed".

Departing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the latest "ceasefire understanding" would continue for three weeks.

"In addition, at the request of the Lebanese government, the United States will begin negotiations to return Lebanese detainees in Israeli prisons who were arrested by Israel after October 7 [2023]," Mr Mikati said, referring to the day before hostilities broke out between Israel and Hezbollah.

Mr Mikati spoke just after midnight local time after speaking to newly elected President Joseph Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

But earlier on Monday night, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group "will not accept any justification for extending it by a single day or extending the deadline".

He said Hezbollah was sure that Mr Aoun, Mr Berri and Mr Mikati would not accept an extension of Israel's presence in south Lebanon.

“We are witnessing an occupation that attacks and refuses to withdraw. The resistance has the right to do what it deems necessary regarding the nature and form and timing of the confrontation,” Mr Qassem said in a televised address.

He repeated his claim of victory in Hezbollah's war with Israel, while conceding that the group did not expect such devastating losses to its leadership, including his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah.

A recently retired Lebanese general told The National: "There was American pressure on the governmen\. I think that's why Mr Mikati made this declaration."

The announcement comes after 22 people in southern Lebanon were killed and more than 120 injured by Israeli fire as they sought to return to their villages, having being displaced for more than a year.

The Israeli government has yet to confirm the extension, although it has said its soldiers would stay in Lebanon after the initial deadline had passed. "Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the state of Lebanon, the phased withdrawal process will continue in full co-ordination with the United States," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

Hezbollah has not made a statement on the extension but has previously said it would be opposed to one.

"There is something wrong with this declaration from the government … Hezbollah has said it won't agree to postpone the agreement by even one minute," the retired general said.

The deal includes the dismantlement of Hezbollah infrastructure and moving its fighters north of the Litani River.

Israel on Sunday claimed it fired warning shots after "suspects" approached its soldiers. A joint statement from the UN special co-ordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, Lt Gen Aroldo Lazaro, acknowledged that "conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages".

Israeli military spokesman Col Avichay Adraee issued a warning on Sunday to residents of more than 60 villages in southern Lebanon, telling them not to return to their homes.

Israeli forces have left coastal areas of southern Lebanon, but are still in areas farther east. The Lebanese army has accused Israel of procrastination, with its troops having not yet withdrawn from southern Lebanon.

Despite the continued occupation of southern villages, the Lebanese army has gradually expanded its presence in areas previously held by the Israeli military. Under the ceasefire deal, the Lebanese army is obliged to increase its troop numbers to about 10,000.