Israeli Fire Kills Two in South Lebanon, Testing Fragile Ceasefire Framework
Beirut-Israeli gunfire killed two people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Lebanese civil defense authorities and state media said, in the first reported fatalities linked to Israeli military action since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect over the weekend.
The incident occurred near Nabatieh Al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon, where Lebanese state news agency NNA reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire on a group of people gathered near a bulldozer clearing a road in the Al-Deir neighborhood.
The Israeli military said its forces had struck “armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat” to troops operating in the Ali Al-Taher ridge area, within a zone in southern Lebanon that Israel has designated as a security area. The military did not immediately confirm whether its statement referred to the same incident reported by Lebanese authorities.
The deaths came as a U.S.-Iran-backed ceasefire arrangement aimed at halting hostilities in Lebanon faced its first major test. The truce, which has largely held since Sunday, followed diplomatic efforts linked to broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran seeking to stabilize multiple regional flashpoints.
Hezbollah condemned the shooting, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire.
“The Islamic Resistance warns that what the enemy has committed constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire, which the Resistance has adhered to up to this point,” the group said in a statement.
The latest tensions emerged as technical discussions continued following U.S.-Iran talks held in Switzerland on Monday. A joint statement issued after those negotiations announced plans to establish a “de-confliction cell” designed to oversee adherence to the cessation of military operations in Lebanon and reduce the risk of renewed fighting.
Iranian officials have repeatedly stressed that developments in Lebanon are an integral component of the broader diplomatic framework currently under discussion.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said any breach of commitments related to Lebanon could complicate ongoing peace negotiations.
“Lebanon is an unquestionable part of the agreement, and whatever happens in Lebanon affects the whole process,” Bahreini told reporters, adding that the United States should use its influence to prevent further attacks.
Israeli forces remain deployed in parts of southern Lebanon following military operations launched against Hezbollah during the latest escalation. The most recent round of fighting began on March 2, when Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel in support of Iran during the wider conflict involving Tehran, Washington and Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israeli forces would retain operational freedom to respond to any direct or emerging threats posed by Hezbollah and would remain in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to safeguard Israeli security.
The incident underscores the challenges facing diplomatic efforts to transform a temporary cessation of hostilities into a durable security arrangement, particularly as Israeli forces remain on Lebanese territory and Hezbollah continues to insist on an Israeli withdrawal as a condition for ending military operations permanently.
Lebanese authorities say the conflict has displaced approximately 1.2 million people and caused extensive destruction across southern regions of the country. Israel has reported military and civilian casualties from Hezbollah attacks during the same period.
Lebanese and Israeli officials are expected to continue discussions through international mediation channels as efforts proceed to prevent the ceasefire from unraveling.
