Israel strikes southern Lebanon after a bomb kills two of its soldiers; one killed in Tebnine and the Rome talks break off early
Israeli airstrikes hit a cemetery in Tebnine, killing one person and wounding 11 to 12, after two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven wounded by a bomb in a booby-trapped building. The day cut short the second round of US-mediated talks in Rome.
Israeli strikes and evacuation order
On Wednesday, the Israeli military launched what it described as "precise strikes" across southern Lebanon, the first such operation in more than a month. They followed a bomb that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded seven, one of them critically, inside a booby-trapped building the army had been holding in southern Lebanon. The army called that blast a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire in place since late June and said it was striking in response. Shortly before the bombings, the military's Arabic-language spokesperson, Ella Waweya, issued an evacuation warning for the village of al-Mansouri, the first online displacement order for Lebanon since the June truce.
In light of Hezbollah's violations of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army is forced to act with force. For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and head north.
The mayor of al-Mansouri, Haidar Madihli, told l'Orient Today that Israel bombed four buildings before the evacuation order was issued, and that the 15 families remaining in the village have since left. Al-Mansouri sits roughly nine kilometres south of Tyre and ten kilometres north of Israel, straddling the "yellow line" that marks the Israeli-declared security zone. The village had been the target of several strikes and artillery fire in recent weeks despite the ceasefire.
Casualties in Tebnine and Majdal Selem
An Israeli airstrike hit the roof of a prayer area in the cemetery of the town of Tebnine, killing one person. The National News Agency put the wounded at 11, Lebanon's Health Ministry at 12. The bomb that triggered the day, meanwhile, killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded seven, one of them critically, when an improvised explosive device detonated inside a booby-trapped building the Israeli army had been holding for some time in the village of Majdal Selem, named as Majdalzoun in some Lebanese reports.
The village lies close to al-Mansouri... There is no Hezbollah presence there, making this a notable incident.
The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the soldiers' deaths, but the incident was widely reported by Lebanese and international media. Since the conflict reignited on March 2, Israeli attacks have killed at least 4,333 people and wounded 12,250 in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. More than one million people were displaced at the start of the latest war.
Rome negotiations enter second day
The strikes unfolded as Israeli and Lebanese delegations met in Rome for the second day of US-facilitated talks, the seventh round since the June framework agreement. The session was cut short: a US State Department official said the round "concluded at 15.30 Rome time" and that "talks ended early due to events on the ground, but will reconvene tomorrow morning". The discussions aim to implement the deal, which calls for Hezbollah's disarmament, a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the vacated areas. A first "pilot zone" in Zawtar al-Gharbiya saw Lebanese troops take control in July, allowing residents to return.
However, progress has been limited. Hezbollah, which was not a party to the agreement, has rejected it outright. Many displaced Lebanese who have returned to damaged homes fear the ceasefire will not hold.
Progress in negotiations has been limited, and many here doubt the ceasefire will hold.
A fragile truce under strain
- Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel; conflict begins
- US brokers ceasefire framework; Israel declares security zone
- Lebanese army deploys to pilot zone Zawtar al-Gharbiya
- Bomb kills two Israeli soldiers; Israel strikes Tebnine, killing one, and orders al-Mansouri evacuated; the Rome round ends early
The evacuation order for al-Mansouri and the Tebnine strike mark the deadliest Israeli bombardment since the June truce, a reminder of the ceasefire's fragility. The renewed violence comes as Iranian officials have warned that a collapse of the Lebanon ceasefire would imperil any deal between Iran and the US over the Strait of Hormuz.
