According to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), two men were killed when Israeli soldiers opened machine-gun fire on them as they stood near a bulldozer clearing a road in a town close to the city of Nabatieh on Tuesday local time. These are the first fatalities from Israeli fire in Lebanon in three days, threatening the fragile US-mediated ceasefire that had largely held since Sunday.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah condemned the attack as "cunning" and a "blatant" violation of the ceasefire agreement, but did not say whether it would retaliate. The Israeli military said it had "struck armed operatives who posed a direct threat" to troops in the Ali al-Taher hill area in the south, which lies inside a "security zone" established by Israel.
Hezbollah political council deputy head Mahmoud Qamati warned the group would respond to any Israeli ceasefire violations "in a similar manner" and there would be no "return to the pre-war situation." He said: "Hezbollah remains on high alert, finger on the trigger, ready to confront any violation by the Israeli regime."
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 4,106 people since March 2, and displaced more than 1.2 million. On the Israeli side, at least 32 soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the conflict with Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir issued a joint statement saying the Israeli military would continue "to act decisively to neutralize threats to soldiers and citizens" and maintain a "security zone in southern Lebanon." Netanyahu stressed that the Israeli army would have "full freedom of action" in Lebanon.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the United States has an obligation to force Israel to stop attacks on southern Lebanon. Esmaeil Baghaei said: "The US commitment is clear and there is no reason for the Israeli regime to continue attacking Lebanon." He added that "final agreements" would be reached in the coming days.
A new round of US-mediated negotiations between Israel and Lebanon is expected to start in Washington on Wednesday and run through Thursday. Lebanon will be represented by Ambassador Nada Moawad, while the Israeli delegation is led by Ambassador Yechiel Leiter. Lebanon demands Israel withdraw from the south, where the Israeli army has set up a buffer zone covering about 6 percent of Lebanese territory. Israel wants to disarm Hezbollah, while Hezbollah says talks should be limited to "common security" and its weapons are not a topic for discussion.
Many Lebanese remain skeptical of the ceasefire. Mohammed Yassin, 60, said: "We don't trust the ceasefire, because Israel is very deceitful." Suzanne, also 60, said her family lost their home after Israeli attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut: "Many times they say there is a ceasefire, then they attack again. They are people who cannot be trusted."
