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.

According to Lebanon's health ministry, citizens were attacked while they were trying to enter their still-occupied towns in the south. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people remain blocked from returning to northern Gaza after Israel accused Hamas of breaching a ceasefire agreement.

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire