Israeli forces killed at least 15 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.

Israel said it would keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline because the Lebanese army had not yet fully deployed to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish its presence in the area.

Israeli forces killed 22 people and wounded 124 others Sunday when displaced residents of southern Lebanon defied Israel's decision not to withdraw from border villages and tried to return home.

Demonstrators attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.

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 31 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.

Israeli army fire killed 22 people in south Lebanon on Sunday including a soldier, health officials said, as residents tried to return home on the day Israel was meant to

Lebanon's Health Ministry says Israeli forces killed 15 people and wounded more than 80 others as residents attempted to return to their homes in the country's south.

Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all parts of the region.