Lebanon has said that it would extend a ceasefire deal with Israel until mid-February, even though the Israeli military failed to meet a deadline to withdraw its troops and killed 22 people in the south of the country, AFP reports.

The deadly violence recorded by health officials yesterday came as residents tried to return home as Israel was scheduled to pull its troops from southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s health ministry said yesterday that Israeli forces opened fire on “citizens who were trying to return to their villages that are still under (Israeli) occupation”.

It said 22 people including six women and a soldier were killed and 124 more wounded. The Lebanese army also announced the soldier’s death and said another had been wounded.