At least 10 people, including high-ranking soldiers, have been killed in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, days after the countries agreed to a conditional truce during United States-mediated talks.
Lebanon’s army said on Saturday that two officers, a brigadier general and a captain, as well as a soldier, were killed in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road.
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The Israeli army said in a statement that the attack had been in an “active combat zone”, and that “movement in a combat zone requires coordination” with the Israeli army. It added that “the incident remains under investigation”.
Following the attack on its soldiers, the Lebanese army said that “the continuation of the deliberate and repeated brutal Israeli aggression … is aimed at thwarting all efforts to reach a solution”.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack and said in a statement posted on social media that his office considered the attack a “flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and of international laws and norms”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned the attack, describing it as “a heinous crime and an attack on Lebanon and all Lebanese people”.
In a statement, Salam extended his condolences to the families and colleagues of Brigadier General Wassam Sabra, Captain Elie Khoury and soldier Hussein Ghozal, as well as to the Lebanese army itself.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah dubbed the attack a “heinous crime” and accused the Lebanese government of exposing its own country to bloodshed through its “complete surrender to the enemy’s demands in Washington”.
“This is not the first time that Lebanese army soldiers or officers have been killed,” said Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Beirut, adding that more than 50 have been killed since the start of the conflict on March 2. However, “this is the first time that such a high-ranking general was killed.”
A lot of rhetoric has come from Lebanese officials, “but there’s nothing that the government can do. A few weeks ago, more than 13 national security personnel were killed and nothing was really done by the government,” said Hashem.
“The only thing the government could do over the past weeks was to withdraw its troops from the southern villages and towns that, at the moment, the Israelis are approaching.”
Lebanon’s ‘real foe’
Separately, an Israeli air strike on the southern village of Saksakiyah, in the Sidon district, killed six people and wounded four others, reported state-run National News Agency (NNA), while another person was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the highway in Deir al-Zahrani, in the Nabatieh district.
Israel also renewed forced displacement orders for the southern Lebanese villages of Armati, Mashgara, Kafr Huna, Sajad and Ansariya, ordering residents to move north of the Zahrani River.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said its fighters struck a Merkava tank at the newly established Blat outpost in the Bint Jbeil area using an Ababil swooping drone, claiming a confirmed hit.
A ceasefire that was supposed to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, but has never been fully respected. Hezbollah and Israel have frequently exchanged accusations of truce violations, with each side justifying its own attacks by citing the alleged violations committed by the other side.
A further conditional truce was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys this week in Washington.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected this ceasefire as it did not include Hezbollah or provide for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
While Israel and Hezbollah continue to fight, the Lebanese army has historically avoided confrontations and has not engaged in the current conflict.
The latest outbreak of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began at the beginning of March after the group said it was acting in support of Tehran. At least 3,558 people have been killed and 10,870 others injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2, according to the latest figures from Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
On Saturday morning, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected comments made by President Aoun that Beirut was a bargaining chip for Tehran during its negotiations with the US.
“Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal long ago,” he said in a post on social media.
“Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr President.”
