Any prolonged Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon could breathe new life into Hezbollah, a group that was founded to liberate Lebanon from Israeli occupation and has portrayed itself as the only force capable of protecting Lebanon’s borders,

The U.S. said on Sunday that the agreement between Lebanon and Israel would remain in effect until Feb. 18, after Israel said on Friday it would keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline set out in a U.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire until Feb. 18 to give Israeli troops more time to withdraw, the Trump administration said Sunday, while a Gaza dispute with Hamas over a hostage was resolved.

Israeli forces killed at least 22 people and injured dozens more in southern Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanese officials said, in the deadliest day since Israel’s truce with Hezbollah took effect. In Gaza,