The toll from Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon on Sunday has risen to 22 martyrs, including six women, and 124 others injured, including 12 women, nine children, and a paramedic, the Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed.

The ministry said Israeli occupation forces opened fire on "citizens who were trying to return to their villages that are still under [Israeli] occupation."

The martyrs were distributed as follows: five in Aytaroun, three in Houla, four in Maarakeh, four in Kfar Kila, one in Odaisseh, one in Blida, and three in Mays al-Jabal. Among the victims was a Lebanese army soldier, Mohammad Youssef Zohour, who was killed in the town of al-Dhayrah.

This comes as southern Lebanese residents continue to return to their border villages near occupied Palestine following the expiration of the 60-day deadline for the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.

Residents of #SouthLebanon forced their way in the early hours of the morning into their hometowns and homes on the border despite the presence of Israeli occupation forces who violated the ceasefire agreement and stayed in Lebanese territory beyond January 26.

Israeli gunfire… pic.twitter.com/OZXvd2X5iM

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 26, 2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced that the Israeli military would not meet the deadline set for its withdrawal from southern Lebanon, in a breach of the terms of the ceasefire agreement that ended the war.

Unarmed and on foot, southern Lebanese men, women, elders, and children broke the barriers erected to prevent them from reaching their land and stood strong in the face of the Israeli war machine, with its forces and vehicles, confronting them with revolutionary chants, flags of Lebanon and Resistance groups, photos of their martyrs, spearheaded by martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's former secretary-general, who was assassinated by "Israel" in late September 2024.

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In the early hours of Sunday morning, the residents of #SouthLebanon defied all odds, reclaiming their rightful lands with unparalleled courage.

Lebanese women stood in the face of the Israeli war machine, unwavering against gunfire. They confronted tanks from point-blank range,… pic.twitter.com/YD9DZghCki

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 26, 2025

Israeli occupation forces responded by mobilizing their troops and vehicles to suppress the popular resistance, opening fire on the unarmed Lebanese people.

In a related context, French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "withdraw his forces still present in Lebanon," his office said in a readout of a phone call between the two.

"The President of the Republic stressed to the Prime Minister the importance of ensuring that nothing compromises the efforts of the new Lebanese authorities to restore the authority of the state throughout the territory of their country," the Elysee Palace said.

During a phone call with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun, Macron emphasized Saturday his commitment to maintaining the ceasefire and advancing the agreement’s full implementation through continued diplomatic engagement.

During the call, Aoun underscored the importance of compelling "Israel" to adhere to the terms of the agreement to safeguard stability in South Lebanon and halt its repeated violations, including the destruction of villages near the southern border and the bulldozing of lands, which obstruct the return of displaced residents to their homes, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Macron, who was in Lebanon last week, called for the "accelerated" implementation of the ceasefire between Lebanon and "Israel".

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