Zionist forces kill 15 people in southern Lebanon, violating ceasefire agreement
BEIRUT – The Zionist forces killed 15 people and injured 83 others in numerous locations in southern Lebanon on Sunday, as citizens were trying to enter their still-occupied towns, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
President Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army commander until parliament elected him head of state on Jan. 9, called on the people of the south to exercise self-restraint and trust in the Lebanese military.
“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,” he said in a statement.
Lebanon’s U.S.-backed military, which reported one of its soldiers among those killed by Israeli forces on Sunday, has accused “Israel” of procrastinating in its withdrawal.
The Zionist occupation’s killings violate the ceasefire agreement reached in November, under which its forces were supposed to withdraw from Lebanon at 02:00 GMT on Sunday.
The top U.N. official in Lebanon and the head of the U.N. peacekeepers in the south said conditions were “not yet in place” for the safe return of Lebanese citizens to villages near the border. “The fact is that the timelines envisaged” in the ceasefire “have not been met,” they said in a statement.
