White House says Israel, Lebanon have extended deadline for troop withdrawal

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon have opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 15 and injuring scores. Lebanese officials said the dead included two women and a Lebanese army soldier. Demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November. Hours later, the White House announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until Feb. 18.