Hezbollah says Israeli shooting in south Lebanon violates ceasefire

DUBAI: Israeli gunfire killed two people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday (Jun 23), Lebanon's Civil Defence and health ministry said, prompting Iran-backed Hezbollah to accuse Israel of violating a ceasefire that has largely held since Sunday.

The deaths came as the US and Iran were wrapping up a first round of talks on a deal paving the way for a permanent settlement of the Middle East war, with Tehran tying the success of the accord to halting the parallel conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Two men were killed when Israeli soldiers "opened fire with their machine guns in their direction while they were standing near an excavator that was unblocking a road" in a town near the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said, updating an initial toll of one dead and two wounded.

In the town of Hadatha, closer to the Israeli border, several residents also came under fire on their way to the local cemetery, NNA reported, without mentioning any casualties.

Hezbollah criticised what it called a "blatant" violation of the truce in Lebanon after the Israeli gunfire, confirming two people had been killed in what it called a "treacherous attack".

The Israeli military said separately on Tuesday that it had struck "armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat to IDF troops operating" in what it describes as a "security zone" it has established in southern Lebanon.

"The IDF will continue to operate to remove immediate threats and will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organisation to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers," it said.

Deadly clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday and Saturday had rattled the fledgling deal, which provides for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.

But there has been a lull in the fighting since Saturday evening, with a spokesman for the UN secretary-general saying Sunday was the first day since the conflict began in early March that peacekeepers in Lebanon reported observing no projectile launches or interceptions.

Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Monday that Israeli forces retained "full freedom of action to thwart any direct or developing threat to them or to the residents of the North".

Israel and Lebanon, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, have been pursuing direct negotiations in Washington in recent weeks, with a fifth round scheduled for Tuesday.

"PEOPLE ARE SCARED", LOCAL OFFICIAL SAYS

Nabatieh and the nearby Ali al-Taher ridge have been the focal point of heavy fighting in recent weeks, as Israeli forces sought to advance there.

Israeli attacks have forced some 1.2 million people from their homes in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.

Zein Ghandour, the mayor of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, said residents had begun returning to check on their homes, but were being urged to stay away after Tuesday's shooting.

"People were scared," he said, speaking to Reuters by phone.

Further from the frontline, hundreds of families had returned to the southern town of Zrarieh, said local official Rida Abed al-Khalik.

"We are expecting more to come tomorrow depending on what will happen in the meetings today," he said, referring to talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli government officials.

In the nearby village of Toura, an official said 60 per cent to 70 per cent of residents had returned, though some had no homes to return to.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 4,100 people, including 773 women, children and healthcare workers, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The toll does not say how many combatants are among the dead.

Israel's death toll from this round of hostilities with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians.