The Lebanese army withdrew its troops this Saturday, 13th, from a base in a village in the south of the country after Israeli forces advanced in a nearby area, a Lebanese military official said.
The departure from the base, the Kfar Tebnit barracks, came as the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for around 20 locations, including the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported airstrikes on Saturday against several areas near Nabatiyeh, including an operation that killed two people in Deir al-Zahrani. Nabatiyeh was targeted by artillery shelling on Saturday, the agency added.
The Associated Press said a senior Lebanese military official said his army withdrew troops from the barracks following an Israeli incursion into the area. The official, who did not offer further details, spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with department policy.
Peace Agreements
The advance on the outskirts of Kfar Tebnit came a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the United States and Iran had agreed to draft a deal to end their war in the Middle East and that mediators were working with both parties to finalize a pact.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his country’s state television on Friday that Washington and Tehran were working to sign an initial agreement declaring an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
Hussein Haj Hassan, a senior official in the political-paramilitary group Hezbollah, told Al Jazeera that Iranian authorities have informed them that Lebanon will be part of a future ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.
Still, Israel continues to occupy wide swathes of southern Lebanon while fighting Hezbollah militants, causing civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure.
