1 killed, 11 wounded in strike on Tebnine as Israel accuses Hezbollah of 'violating ceasefire'
The Israeli military said it began striking targets in southern Lebanon on Wednesday in response to a "blatant violation of the ceasefire" by Iran-backed Hezbollah, just as Israel and Lebanon held talks in Rome.
"In response to a blatant violation of the ceasefire by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the IDF has begun conducting precise strikes in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement, shortly after telling residents to evacuate a village in the area.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in a bomb explosion inside a booby-trapped building in Majdalzoun in south Lebanon, Israeli media reported Wednesday.
The Israeli army accused Hezbollah of "violating the ceasefire agreement" and ordered the residents of al-Mansouri to evacuate ahead of strikes, the first such warning in several weeks.
An Israeli drone strike targeted Tebnine, a town outside the Israeli-designated yellow zone, for the first time since a ceasefire was reached in June.
The strike "targeted the roof of a prayer area" in the cemetery of Tebnine, killing one person and wounding 11 others, the National News Agency said.
Violence in Lebanon had decreased since Israel and Lebanon agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon's south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region.
Lebanon continued to report intermittent Israeli strikes, shelling and heavy demolitions in southern villages and towns, but only in areas occupied by Israel in the yellow zone.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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