Israeli forces kill one person in south Lebanon as residents try to return: Lebanese health ministry

Israeli forces kill one person in south Lebanon as residents try to return: Lebanese health ministry

Israel forces killed one person and wounded 17 others trying to return to homes in south Lebanon where Israeli troops remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed on Sunday, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Israel has said it intended to keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline stipulated in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted last year's war with Hezbollah, and on Saturday ordered residents not to return until further notice.

The deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from south Lebanon as the Iran-backed Hezbollah's weapons and fighters were removed from the area and the Lebanese army deployed, within in a 60-day period which ended on Sunday morning.

Israel has however said the terms have not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, while Lebanon's U.S.-backed military on Saturday accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.

The Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed and nine others wounded in the village of Houla as a result of what it said were Israeli attacks on citizens while they were trying to enter their still-occupied towns.

Another eight people were injured in Kfar Kila, it said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Israel has not said how long its forces would remain in the south, where the Israeli military says it has been seizing Hezbollah weapons and dismantling its infrastructure.

The Hezbollah-Israel conflict was fought in parallel with the Gaza war, and peaked in a major Israeli offensive against Hezbollah that uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon and left the militant group badly weakened.