At least 22 people were killed and some 80 wounded on Sunday, according to the Lebanese ministry for health, when Israeli troops opened fire on displaced civilians attempting to return to their villages in southern Lebanon. Israel says it opened fire on suspects who approached troops and “posed a threat”.
The clashes occurred on the day Israeli troops were supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon under the terms of a ceasefire agreement. However, on Friday Israel said it was delaying its military withdrawal, in co-ordination with US mediators, because the Lebanese army had failed to take up positions across southern Lebanon and ensure that Hizbullah fighters had moved north of the Litani river.
Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati warned that any Israeli deviations from the ceasefire agreement will have “grave repercussions”, calling for American and French mediators “to restrain Israel’s aggression and force it to withdraw from the territories it occupies”.
On Sunday night, the White House said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the truce until February 18th, giving Israeli troops more time to withdraw.
President Higgins ‘rightly’ referenced Gaza war in Holocaust speech, says Simon Harris
Palestinians begin return to northern Gaza after Israel says it will stop blocking travel
At least 22 killed after Israeli troops open fire on Lebanese civilians trying to return to villages
Palestinian killed and seven wounded after Israel blocks return to northern Gaza
Meanwhile, Egypt and Jordan on Sunday rejected US president Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to their territory. Mr Trump over the weekend suggested that both countries should take in residents from Gaza after the coastal enclave had become a “demolition site”.
Far-right politicians in Israel reacted enthusiastically to the proposal.
“One of our demands from prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to encourage voluntary emigration, and when the president of the largest superpower in the world, Trump, raises that idea on his own, the Israeli government ought to implement it – encourage emigration now!” said Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) party.
It comes as a Gaza resident was shot and killed by Israeli troops approaching a roadblock on the main Salah al-Din road heading north, after Israel refused to allow passage to thousands of war refugees wanting to return to northern Gaza.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel was due to pull out of parts of the Netzarim corridor, which bisects Gaza from east to west, on Saturday, allowing the displaced residents to return to the north. However, Israel delayed the move in response to what it claims are Hamas violations of the ceasefire agreement. In response, Hamas failed to hand over a list providing information about the condition of the remaining hostages who are due to be released in the first stage of the deal.
On Saturday, Hamas released four female soldiers in return for 200 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, but failed to release a female civilian, Arbel Yehud, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement. Israel says passage through the Netzarim corridor will not be permitted until she is set free and contacts continue aimed at securing her release this week.
Ninety hostages, dead and alive, remain in Gaza.
The four released women soldiers, who served as Israel Defense Forces spotters on the Gaza border, are recovering in a hospital in central Israel, surrounded by family and friends, after 477 days in captivity.
Dr Michal Steinman, from the medical team, praised their resilience: “You simply see, each and every one of them, four strong women who found a way to survive. We have begun to examine them medically and their psychological condition. But in general, you see their vitality, you see their survival power.”
The 200 Palestinians released on Saturday were welcomed as heroes when they returned to the West Bank and Gaza. Seventy of them, who were responsible for the murder of many Israelis, went to Egypt and some will remain there. Others will move to Turkey and to Algeria. After three years in exile they will be able to return to Gaza or the West Bank.
