Displaced Lebanese residents were shot by Israeli forces as they returned to southern Lebanon despite warnings that troops had yet to withdraw.

By Laila Bassam and Alexander Cornwell BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli forces killed 22 people in south Lebanon on Sunday as a deadline for their withdrawal passed and thousands of people tried to return to their homes in defiance of Israeli military orders,

Three people were killed and 44 others injured by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese government said, as residents of villages near the border defied orders by Israel’s military not to return to their homes.

Israel accused Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it has released, stopping thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.

Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish a military presence in the area.

Israeli forces killed 15 people and wounded 80 others Sunday when displaced residents of southern Lebanon defied Israel's decision not to withdraw from border villages and tried to return home.

Israel is considering sending Soviet and Russian-made weapons captured in Lebanon to Ukraine, with signs transfers may be under way.

Israeli forces killed at least three people and injured dozens more in the country’s south, Lebanese officials said. Israel had agreed to withdraw its troops from the area as of Sunday.

The initial ceasefire plan, announced in late November, brought an end to 14 months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Brokered 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 over the same period.

The Israeli government says its military will not withdraw from Lebanon by Sunday’s deadline, in violation of a deadline set in a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

Israeli troops opened fire in south Lebanon on Sunday (Jan 26), killing 10 residents and a Lebanese soldier, health officials said as hundreds of people tried to return to their homes on the