16 bodies recovered from under rubble in southern Lebanon after cease-fire

ISTANBUL

Lebanese medics recovered the bodies of 16 people from under the rubble of destroyed buildings in southern Lebanon, local media said on Thursday.

Nine bodies were retrieved by Civil Defense teams in the town of Chamaa, six in Bayyada, and one in Naqoura, the state news agency NNA reported.

The broadcaster said that efforts were ongoing to search for more victims under the rubble in the three southern towns.

On Nov. 27, a cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon came into force in the hope of ending 14 months of fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. It is, however, described as fragile, as over 130 Israeli violations were documented by Lebanon.

Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is to withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line de facto border in a phased manner while the Lebanese army deploys its forces in southern Lebanon within a maximum of 60 days.

Implementation of the agreement is to be overseen by the US and France, but details on enforcement mechanisms remain unclear.

Over 4,000 people have been killed and more than 16,500 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon and over 1 million others have been displaced since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar