Two men were killed in Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon while taking part in the annual olive harvest, according to Lebanese state media and local authorities, as Israeli attacks continued.
Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported that one man died on Sunday in the village of Froun from explosive remnants left over from recent fighting, while the other was killed in Yater by Israeli shelling "targeting the outskirts of the town as the victim was inspecting his land and olive grove."
The Lebanese army blamed Israeli tank fire and described the ongoing attacks as a "blatant violation of existing agreements."
Following the incident, the municipality of Yater urged residents to "stay away from the outskirts of the town and not cross the dirt embankment separating certain unsafe areas" out of fear of further Israeli attacks.
In Froun, the NNA reported that "an unidentified object" left over from earlier Israeli operations exploded, killing the man — an engineer — as he and others tended to the orchards. Froun's mayor, Hassan Bazzi, told AFP that the engineer had returned from Beirut, where he lived, to take part in the harvest. The incident prompted local residents to call off the harvest and wait for "the Lebanese army to finish clearing and de-mining the village," according to Bazzi.
Residents displaced
Since an agreement between Lebanon and Israel was signed in June, violence in the south has eased but not ended.
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict on March 2, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Tehran amid the US-Israeli war against Iran. Israel then launched an air campaign and a ground offensive that Lebanese officials say killed more than 4,300 people.
In August, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of deliberately targeting homes and civilian infrastructure across the country. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded nearly 350,000 internally displaced people by the end of August, a sign of a deepening displacement crisis.
Meanwhile, volunteers from the nearby town of Jebchit and local residents came to help their southern neighbors with the harvest as an act of solidarity. "From north to south, one people and one land," organizer Ahmad Chahhal said.
