Lebanon says 2 killed as protests against Israeli presence erupt for a second day

Israeli gunfire killed two people and wounded 17 others on Monday, local health officials said Monday, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where the Israel Defense Forces has stayed put.

The deadly protests came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded in demonstrations over the continued IDF presence.

The military has blamed Hezbollah “provocations” in the protests, where returning residents have hoisted the Iran-backed terror group’s insignia. On Monday, a leading Christian Lebanese politician blasted Hezbollah for urging the residents to return and pushing them toward “certain death.”

Under a US-brokered ceasefire on November 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon within sixty days, and Hezbollah was to recede north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Israeli border.  The United States and Lebanon announced Sunday that Israel’s deadline to withdraw was extended to February 18.

While the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers took up posts in several villages before the original deadline on Sunday, the IDF remained in over a dozen others towns where it says Lebanon’s troops have failed to deploy.

Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Monday that Israel would “firmly enforce” the ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon, warning that “anyone who breaks the rules or threatens IDF troops will bear the full price.”

Meanwhile, in a pre-recorded speech, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem slammed the extension of the IDF’s withdrawal deadline, and accused Israel of violating the ceasefire 1,350 times.

“Israel has to withdraw because the 60 days are over,” said Qassem. “We won’t accept any excuses to extend one second or one day.”

“Any delay in the withdrawal is the responsibility of the United Nations, the US, France and Israel,” he added, naming Lebanon’s four partners in the ceasefire deal.

The “resistance” has the right to act in what it deems appropriate in response to the “occupation,” said Qassem, adding that Hezbollah considered retaliating against Israeli airstrikes but was advised not to by Lebanese authorities.

‘We are staying’

The protests that resumed for the second day in south Lebanon were particularly focused in eastern border villages, as displaced residents, accompanied by the Lebanese Armed Forces, again tried returning to their villages, local media and AFP correspondents reported Monday.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israel opened fire, killing two people and wounding fourteen. It added that the wounded included a child and a rescuer from the Risala Scouts association, affiliated with the Amal movement, Hezbollah’s ally.

Nonetheless, an AFP correspondent reported seeing dozens of vehicles carrying families headed toward border towns, a day after hundreds of residents tried unsuccessfully to return to their homes.

In the city of Bint Jbeil, an access point for many border villages, supporters of Hezbollah were distributing sweets, water and images of slain terror chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September. Others handed out stickers celebrating the “victory from God” as women held pictures of slain Hezbollah fighters.

In the village of Aitaroun, scores of residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, marched hand-in-hand or rode motorcycles, escorted by ambulances, bulldozers and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the town but stopped short of Israeli positions, unable to enter.

Saleem Mrad, the head of the municipality, said “we are coming with our heads held high and crowned with victory to our village, Aitaroun.”

“Our village is ours, and we will bring it back more beautiful than it was before, he said.” We are staying.”

Hassan al-Ahmad, a resident, said, “We have to give our blood and our souls. If there had not been blood spilled, the land would not have been liberated.”

Lebanon’s national news agency reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance of the southern village of Yaroun to deter residents from proceeding farther. The IDF has not commented on the report.

After Sunday’s violence, an Israeli military official told reporters that hundreds of Lebanese, among them Hezbollah operatives and supporters carrying Hezbollah flags and images of Nasrallah, carried out “provocations” while trying to reach villages in southern Lebanon.

The official said the military had prepared for civilians attempting to reach the border villages at the end of the 60-day truce, despite its warnings.

Iran-led axis ‘does not value people’s lives’

Responding to Sunday’s deadly demonstrations, Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces Party — a Christian faction opposed to Hezbollah — accused the terror group and Lebanese government of risking the displaced residents’ lives, saying: “The current government proves it does not exist, and the Axis of Resistance proves that it does not value people’s lives.”

Hezbollah plays a lead role in Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” network of regional proxies committed to Israel’s destruction. Lebanese critics of Hezbollah accuse it of furthering Iran’s interests at the expense of Lebanon’s.

In an interview published Monday in Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan, Geagea said the axis “does not hesitate to fabricate new events on a daily basis that it uses to cover up the tragedies and loss of life and property it has caused.”

Geagea said the Lebanese government should have informed residents about details of Israel’s deployment “rather than allowing some parties to exploit the scenes for self-interest, causing the death of citizens.”

“Protecting people’s lives is the responsibility of the Lebanese government, not Israel’s,” the party leader said, calling on the Lebanese military “to organize the entry of citizens into safe villages, and prevent them from reaching areas that the Israeli army still occupies.”

Hezbollah “exploited this vacuum and pushed citizens into imminent danger, not caring who would be killed or injured,” Geagea added. “It knows that throwing over 20 citizens into certain death is pointless and will not yield any results, and will not make Israel change its position.”

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came after 14 months of fighting, which began when the terror group, unprovoked, began attacking Israel on a near-daily basis on October 8, 2023 — a day after the Gaza war was sparked when fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed Israel by the thousands, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group.

Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 46 civilians. In addition, 80 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes, attacks on Israel, and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.

The IDF estimates that some 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.