Lebanon says gunfire kills woman in border town

BEIRUT: Lebanese official media said Israeli forces killed a woman in a southern border town on Sunday as residents sought to return home, two days ahead of an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deadline. Lebanon's army shortly later urged residents against heading to border areas where its forces had not completed deployment.

The official National News Agency (NNA) said that Israeli "occupation forces shot in the direction of Hula neighbourhoods after residents entered, leading to the death of a woman and the wounding of other people". "Three citizens were kidnapped by Israeli forces in the town," the NNA added, after earlier reporting that residents had entered by passing a Lebanese army checkpoint and "dirt barriers set up by the Israeli army". A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's group Hezbollah came into effect on November 27 after more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war. Under the deal, Lebanon's military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period. — AFP