Three Lebanese Soldiers Wounded in Mine Clearance at Border Village
Al Jazeera Staff
Three Lebanese soldiers were wounded on Saturday while clearing unexploded ordnance in the border village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah. The incident occurred after Israeli forces allegedly built earthworks overnight, breaching a June framework agreement, while the Israeli military denied knowledge of the event.
Three Lebanese soldiers were wounded while trying to clear unexploded ordnance in the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, according to a statement from the country's military on Saturday.
Hours earlier, the village mayor and Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli troops entered the village and built an earthen rampart overnight. Mayor Abed Ezzeddine confirmed to AFP that residents suddenly discovered the fortification about 100 meters from the village square.
Zawtar al-Gharbiyah is under the control of the Lebanese army under an agreement signed with Israel in June. A Lebanese military source called Israel's move a violation of the framework agreement, while the Israeli military said it was "not aware of any incident in this area."
NNA reported: "An Israeli military force entered the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah just after midnight and erected new earthworks near the village square." An AFP correspondent confirmed the earthworks blocked a road at the eastern entrance of the village.
The Lebanese army had deployed to Zawtar al-Gharbiyah since July 21, and about 50 families have returned to the village since then. Before the Lebanese army arrived, Israeli troops were stationed on the village's outskirts.
The village is one of two "pilot areas" where the Lebanese army deployed under a U.S.-brokered framework agreement signed with Israel on June 26. The agreement outlines a gradual Israeli withdrawal in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament.
Shelling and incursions across several towns
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tyre, southern Lebanon, reported that Israel has accelerated its attacks in recent days, in parallel with negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv in Rome. The Zawtar al-Gharbiyah area is being swept for mines and cleared of rubble by the Lebanese army to allow residents to return.
The nearby town of Mansouri came under shelling on Saturday, with residents unable to return due to evacuation orders and intermittent fire. A bulldozer clearing a road there was damaged by an explosive device the day before.
Shelling and incursions occurred across the border, including Israeli bulldozers operating in the occupied Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh area toward the Ali al-Taher district of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, two drone strikes on empty lots in Mayfadoun, and continued incursions in Kfar Shouba, Hasbaya district, and Haddatha in Bint Jbeil district. Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Mansouri were described as uninhabitable.
Lebanon is maintaining its position on a ceasefire and demanding that Israel stop destroying border villages, while preparing for a new round of negotiations in September.
Israel said one soldier was wounded in southern Lebanon on Saturday. The Israeli military, cited by Channel 12, said the soldier was moderately injured in an "operational incident" and was taken to hospital. Israeli media reported he was a combat engineer from Battalion 607, hit by shrapnel from Israeli fire in the village of Tayri.
Lebanon and Israel have concluded their seventh round of U.S.-mediated talks in Rome on Thursday. President Joseph Aoun said Beirut achieved "positive progress" on border issues and prisoners.
