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.

Israeli forces killed 15 people and wounded 80 others Sunday when displaced residents of southern Lebanon defied Israel's decision not to withdraw from border villages and tried to return home.

Demonstrators attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon by the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement.