The United States and Lebanon said the ceasefire agreement with Israel – which was due to expire on Sunday – has been extended until mid-February.
Israel has kept troops deployed in Lebanon beyond the initial deadline, accusing the Lebanese government of not fully fulfilling its part of the deal, which calls for the removal of Hezbollah from the area.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Health in Lebanon said that Israeli soldiers killed 22 people and injured 124 others who were trying to return to their homes in the south of the country.
The Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati says that, following the communication with the US, the agreement will now remain in place until February 18.
The first ceasefire, announced in late November, ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Endorsed by the US and France, the agreement gave Hezbollah 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon and required Israeli forces to withdraw at the same time.
Announcing the plan, the former US President at the time, Joe Biden, said it was “designed to completely eliminate the hostility” between the two sides.
But on Friday, with two days left before the deadline, Israel said some troops would remain in the region as the ceasefire agreement was “to be fully ratified by the Lebanese state”.
A statement from the White House on Sunday said that the deadline has now been extended to February 18, and that negotiations will begin for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023.
Thousands of Lebanese citizens have returned to towns and villages near the border since the deal was agreed, despite warnings that the region remains safe.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Health in Lebanon said that 22 people were killed by Israeli forces in the area.
The Israeli army said it had fired “warning shots at several locations”, without specifying whether people had been hit, and arrested several people it said were an “imminent” threat.
The long-standing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah – an Iranian-backed military, political and social organization – escalated last September. This led to an intense Israeli air campaign across Lebanon, ground attacks in the south of the country, and the assassination of top Hezbollah leaders.
The attack killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon – including many civilians – and displaced more than 1.2 million people.
Israel’s aim was to allow the return of approximately 60,000 civilians who had fled from the northern communities of the country due to the attack by Hezbollah, and to remove the group from the border areas.
Hezbollah launched its campaign the day after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, saying it was acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
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