Explosion Kills Two Israeli Soldiers as Violence Returns to Southern Lebanon
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتساب
Violence returned to southern Lebanon after two Israeli soldiers were killed and four others wounded in an explosion inside a building their unit was searching. Israeli strikes followed, killing one person and wounding others as Lebanon-Israel negotiations continued in Rome.
Israel’s military said the explosion occurred Wednesday in the village of Majdal Zoun when soldiers entered a site. The type of explosive and when it was planted remain under investigation. The deaths were the first among Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since the fragile truce began nearly two months ago.
The Israeli military initially described the incident as a Hezbollah violation of the ceasefire and announced retaliatory strikes. Defence Minister Israel Katz did not repeat that accusation in a later statement mourning the soldiers, while Hezbollah had not commented on the explosion at the time of publication.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on Tibnine killed one person and wounded 12. Eight more people were injured in overnight attacks on Burj al-Shemali, while artillery fire targeted Mansouri and Majdal Zoun. Israel also issued its first online evacuation warning for a Lebanese village in several weeks.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, said it recorded 113 projectiles fired by the Israeli military on Wednesday, the highest number since June 21. Israeli forces remain in parts of southern Lebanon that Israel describes as a security zone despite a June arrangement intended to reduce hostilities and expand Lebanese army control.
The escalation coincided with U.S.-facilitated talks between Lebanese and Israeli negotiators in Rome. The discussions centre on pilot areas where Israeli troops would withdraw and the Lebanese army would assume control. Wednesday’s session ended early because of the violence but resumed on Thursday.
The resumption of talks does not mean the truce is secure. The cause of the explosion remains unresolved, Israel has not completed its withdrawal, and Hezbollah rejects disarmament and opposes the direct negotiations. The Rome process continues, but it now faces a harder test in preventing one incident from reopening a wider confrontation.
