An Israeli airstrike in south
Lebanon killed one person and injured 11, the Lebanese ministry of health said, in one of
Israel’s deadliest bombings since the start of the
June ceasefire.
Israel carried out an airstrike in the town of
Tebnine, south
Lebanon hitting a cemetery, the Lebanese health ministry said. It said the town of
al-Mansouri, also in south
Lebanon, was bombed too, forcing families to flee.The Israeli military issued a displacement order about 30 minutes before the strike, saying it was destroying
Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the area in response to the group’s “violation of the ceasefire”.Two Israeli troops were killed and seven wounded in an explosion in south
Lebanon on Wednesday, with the origin unknown. In recent weeks, Israeli troops have been wounded by booby-trapped vehicles and mines laid by
Hezbollah in south
Lebanon.Israeli tanks in south
Lebanon on Wednesday. Photograph: EPAWednesday was the first time
Israel has issued a displacement order since the start of the
June ceasefire. Such orders were a near daily occurrence during the most recent round of
Hezbollah-
Israel-fighting" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="179078" data-entity-type="event">
Hezbollah-
Israel fighting, which started on 2 March and displaced more than 1 million people in
Lebanon.Since the
June ceasefire,
Israel has occupied swathes of
Lebanon as part of a so-called security zone. It has continued bombing parts of the area and killing people who have come near.It is a similar approach to in Gaza, where
Israel occupies more than 60% of the strip under what it calls its “yellow line”, and continues to carry out bombings there. Earlier this year, the Israeli prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had ordered the army to seize control of 70% of the
Gaza Strip.More than 1,200 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the October ceasefire. At least 26 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in the strip over the past weekend.In
Lebanon,
Israel has continued mass demolitions in areas it occupies, including a blast last week that used 700 tons of explosives around
Beaufort Castle, outside
Nabatieh.
Israel has said it is targeting
Hezbollah infrastructure, but rights groups, including
Human Rights Watch, say the indiscriminate nature of the explosives could comprise the war crime of wanton destruction.Talks between the Lebanese government and
Israel for a more permanent peace are continuing, with the two sides meeting in Rome on Tuesday. The Lebanese government is seeking
Israel’s withdrawal, while
Israel wants the disarmament of
Hezbollah.A woman and child stand next to Lebanese military vehicles in Zawtar al Gharbiya, southern
Lebanon, one of the pilot zones. Photograph: EPAThe meetings in Rome are the seventh between the two sides, with talks expected to focus on the Ali Taher area in south
Lebanon, where Israeli troops have been conducting detonations.So far, negotiations have resulted three “pilot zones” in south
Lebanon where the Lebanese army has assumed control. The two sides are using these as tests of whether the Lebanese army can prevent
Hezbollah from entering and can continue to dismantle the group’s infrastructure there.Progress in the pilot zones is slow and the Lebanese government has asked for a quicker Israeli withdrawal, which
Israel is unlikely to agree to.The fighting this year started after
Hezbollah launched rockets at
Israel on 2 March in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Israel then began a bombing campaign and invaded south
Lebanon.
Israel has since killed 4,321 people in
Lebanon, while at least 40 Israelis, 38 of them troops, were killed by
Hezbollah.