Lebanese wait to go home ahead of delayed Israeli pullout

HULA, Lebanon: Near a south Lebanon border town, residents waited on Monday to go home after months of displacement, on the eve of an extended deadline for Israel to withdraw troops under a fragile truce.

“It´s our right to return to our town, to our homes, to retrieve the bodies of our martyrs, and return in full freedom,” said Hula resident Amin Koteish, a farmer, surrounded by his neighbours.

But their return is not yet guaranteed. Israel´s army announced on Monday it would stay “temporarily in five strategic points along the border” beyond the Tuesday deadline, including one overlooking Hula.

On Sunday, a teenager was killed when, according to official Lebanese media, Israeli troops opened fire towards Hula “after residents entered” the town, passing a Lebanese army checkpoint and “dirt barriers set up by the Israeli army”.

On Monday, Lebanese soldiers stood guard along one of the roads leading to the town, near military vehicles and ambulances, as people waited for Israeli troops to withdraw and so that they could retrieve the body of Khadija Atwi, the teen killed by Israeli fire. “We will sleep here and stay near the (Lebanese) army” until the Israelis withdraw, said Koteish.

The pullout deadline is set to expire on Tuesday morning. “It is our legitimate and legal right to return to our homes” after more than a year of displacement, he said, expressing anger at the delay after Israel missed a January deadline.