Israeli fire kills 2 in south Lebanon, straining ceasefire
Why it matters: The deaths were the first reported since the June 21 truce and could complicate US-backed efforts to lock in a de-confliction mechanism.
Israeli gunfire killed two people in southern Lebanon on Monday, in the first reported fatalities since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began to hold on June 21. Lebanon’s health ministry and Civil Defence said the men were near a bulldozer clearing a road in Nabatieh al-Fawqa. Israel’s military said troops fired warning shots after four people on a bulldozer and motorcycle entered an area it still controls, then opened further fire when they kept approaching. Hezbollah called the killings a blatant ceasefire violation but did not say it would retaliate. The incident adds pressure to a fragile truce that Washington is trying to stabilize through a planned de-confliction cell with Lebanon.