As Thousands Try to Return Home, Mideast Cease-Fires Appear Fragile
The cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza appeared increasingly fragile on Sunday after Israeli forces killed scores of people in southern Lebanon, Lebanese officials said, while in Gaza, Israel prevented Palestinians from moving back to their homes, saying Hamas had violated the terms of the truce.
In Lebanon, negotiators had hoped that the cease-fire, which was signed in November, would become permanent, securing a measure of calm in a turbulent region. Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war have poured onto roads leading south, heading back to their homes.
But as a deadline passed on Sunday for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the forces of the militant group Hezbollah from southern Lebanon, a very different scenario was taking shape. Lebanon's Health Ministry said Israeli forces killed at least 22 people and injured 120 in southern Lebanon, making Sunday the deadliest day in the country since the war ended in November.
The Israeli military said in a statement late on Sunday that it had fired 'warning shots in order to eliminate threats' — a formulation that suggested the shots may have been more than just warnings. It said that there had been 'dozens of rioters' in the area. The military also said its soldiers had spotted a 'a vehicle with Hezbollah flags' and that its forces had 'operated in order to remove the threat.' People gathering on Sunday as the army secured an area near the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon. Credit... Karamallah Daher/Reuters
In recent days, Israeli officials have expressed concerns that Hezbollah remains active in southern Lebanon and it has doubts about the Lebanese Army's ability to rein in the group.
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