An Israeli drone seriously injured two Lebanese soldiers near Nabatia just a day after the talks in the US. Tensions in southern Lebanon are escalating significantly despite the cease-fire.
The Lebanese army announced on Saturday that a “targeted” Israeli attack in southern Lebanon left two soldiers wounded. The attack occurred after the military representatives of Israel and Lebanon held talks in Washington on Friday, TASR writes, according to an AFP report.
- An Israeli attack injured two soldiers in southern Lebanon.
- Israel called for the evacuation of seven Lebanese villages.
- Both countries accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
- The Israeli army advanced beyond the Lítání river in Lebanon.
In a statement, the army clarified that the soldiers were in a vehicle at the time of the attack and suffered serious injuries after being hit by a “hostile Israeli drone” near the southern city of Nabatiya.
The Israeli army on Saturday called for the evacuation of residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon in response to a “violation of the ceasefire agreement” by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. A truce between Israel and Lebanon has been in effect since April 17, but both sides accuse each other of violating it.
The Israeli army is advancing
The Times of Israel news portal reports that Israel’s air defenses intercepted a drone fired from Lebanon on Saturday, and according to the Jewish state’s army, it was apparently a Hezbollah drone.
The latest attacks came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli army had crossed the Litani River in Lebanon and was advancing further north of the river. The crossing of the Lítání River is the result of several weeks of progress by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. In recent days, military operations – ground and air – have intensified in the region. At the same time, these strikes follow Friday’s negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese military officials in the United States. According to US Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridg Colby, these talks were productive and the upcoming political talks will build on this meeting.
Lebanese officials, according to the Al-Araby al-Jadid TV channel, said that “the meeting at the Pentagon did not bring any progress, especially in terms of a comprehensive ceasefire.” Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel began last month, with the next round of talks expected to take place in early June. Hezbollah, which dragged Lebanon into war by firing rockets at Israel in March, strongly rejects direct negotiations.
