Israeli troops have opened fire in southern Lebanon, killing two people and wounding two, according to the Lebanese state news agency, following two days of relative calm in the country amid a fragile truce.
Two men were killed when Israeli soldiers “opened fire with their machine-guns in their direction while they were standing near an excavator that was unblocking a road” in a town near the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday.
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They are the first reported deaths from Israeli fire in Lebanon in three days, threatening a United States-brokered “ceasefire” that has largely held since Sunday.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah denounced the “treacherous attack”, saying it was a “blatant” violation of the truce. It did not say whether it would respond.
The Israeli military said it “struck armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat” to soldiers in the Ali al-Taher ridge area of the south, within an area of south Lebanon where Israeli forces have declared a “security zone”.
Earlier, Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, warned that the Lebanese group will respond to any violation of the ceasefire by Israel, according to Iran’s Press TV.
Qamati said Hezbollah’s retaliation will come “in kind”, adding that there will not be a “return to the pre-war situation” when Israeli forces launched near-daily attacks on Lebanon even as the group’s fighters held their fire.
“Hezbollah remains fully alert with its finger on the trigger, ready to confront any violation by the Israeli regime,” he was quoted as saying.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 4,106 people since March 2. At least 1.2 million people have also been forced from their homes.
Israel’s death toll from its latest conflict with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir issued a joint statement saying the Israeli military will continue to “act with determination in order to neutralize threats against our soldiers and our citizens”.
The military would continue to demolish infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, and would also continue to “maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon”, it said.
The statement came after Netanyahu issued a video statement insisting that the Israeli military will “have full freedom of action” in Lebanon.
“My stance is firm on our remaining in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as is required,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has said the US is obligated to force Israel to halt its attacks on southern Lebanon.
“We have all witnessed the continued attacks by the Zionist entity on Lebanon,” Esmaeil Baghaei said.
“The obligation to put an end to the war in Lebanon is part and parcel of the previous and current arrangements. The US commitment is clear and there is no justification whatsoever for the Zionist entity to continue to assault Lebanon,” he added.
Baghaei said the Israel-Hezbollah war is a “very complicated issue”, but added “final arrangements” will be reached “over the coming days”.
A new round of US-mediated negotiations between Israel and Lebanon is to begin today in Washington, with talks expected to last until Thursday.
Lebanon is represented by Ambassador Nada Moawad, while the Israeli delegation is headed by Ambassador Yechiel Leiter. US officials are also participating in the talks.
Lebanon is seeking Israel’s withdrawal from the south of the country, where the Israeli military has established a so-called “buffer zone” that encompasses about 6 percent of Lebanese territory.
Israel says it is seeking the “disarmament” of Hezbollah. Hezbollah says the talks should be limited to “mutual security” and that its weapons must be kept off the table.
But many residents in Lebanon remain sceptical of the ceasefire agreement.
Mohammed Yassin, 60, told the Reuters news agency that he would return to his home in the town of Hula in southern Lebanon “the moment they say the (way) is open and things are OK”. He added: “We don’t trust the ceasefire, because Israel is deceitful. It’s not like (they are) people who commit to what they say.”
Suzanne, also 60 years old, said she and her family were made homeless after Israeli attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh.
“We were renting in the Dahiyeh and the homes are gone. They hit (bombed) them – there are no homes (left). Where are we supposed to go? We don’t know where we’re supposed to go,” she said.
“We don’t have trust, because several times they’ve said there was a ceasefire, and then they go back to attacking again. I mean, they are people who can’t be trusted,” she added.