Israeli fire wounds 3 journalists in Khiam where troops remain

Israeli forces opened fire to push back a number of vehicles that were entering a restricted area, in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops were still present following their ground invasion in early October.

Three journalists, including a freelance photographer working for The Associated Press, said they were shot and wounded by Israeli troops while covering the return of displaced people to the town of Khiam, around 6 kilometers from the border, which had seen heavy fighting in recent days.

The Israeli military said in a statement late Wednesday that it was unaware of any fire toward journalists and that its forces had only fired warning shots in the area.

An Israeli security official said Israeli forces remained in their positions hours after the ceasefire began and will only gradually withdraw.

The official said the pace of the withdrawal and the scheduled return of Lebanese civilians would depend on whether the deal is implemented and enforced. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the deal and its implementation with the media.

The Lebanese military asked displaced people returning to southern Lebanon to avoid frontline villages and towns until Israeli forces withdraw.

Residents will return to vast destruction wrought by the Israeli military, with entire villages flattened.

More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the start of the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel, more than half civilians, as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.