Israel’s military launched new strikes on southern Lebanon on Wednesday and issued its first evacuation warning in weeks, accusing Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire, as Lebanese officials said at least one person was killed.
The escalation came while Lebanon and Israel were in the middle of US-sponsored negotiations in Rome intended to halt hostilities, with Beirut pressing for Israel’s phased pullback from the south.
“In response to a blatant violation of the ceasefire by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, the IDF has begun conducting precise strikes in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military said in a statement, issued shortly after it told residents to leave the southern town of Mansouri.
Lebanese state media reported that one person was killed and 11 others wounded in a separate strike.
During US-backed talks in June, Israel and Lebanon agreed on a framework arrangement that includes Hezbollah’s disarmament, an incremental withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, beginning in test areas described as “pilot zones”.
This week’s talks, set to continue until tomorrow, mark the seventh round of Washington-mediated negotiations since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war in March by firing rockets at Israel, in support of its backer Iran.
Israel answered with intense airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.
In its first evacuation order of this kind since June, the Israeli military told the people of Mansouri on Wednesday: “In light of Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces are compelled to act against it with force.”
“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north,” the military’s Arabic-language spokeswoman, Ella Waweya, wrote on X.
Mansouri — about nine kilometres south of Tyre and 10 kilometres north of Israel — and nearby areas have been hit by multiple Israeli strikes and artillery fire in recent weeks, despite the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel that took effect in June.
The municipality said on 22 June that residents could return, while urging them to stay away from the section of the town that lies within Israel’s so-called “security zone” in southern Lebanon.
The “security zone” refers to a strip of territory where Israeli forces continue to operate, extending about 10 kilometres inside southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.
‘Shame, humiliation’
A US State Department official said this week’s agenda would “include expanding the pilot zone process, resolving all outstanding border issues, and working on a comprehensive peace and security agreement”.
As the delegations gathered in Rome, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke with his Iranian counterpart — Tehran being Hezbollah’s principal patron — and urged Iran to stop the group’s operations.
In a post made shortly before the Israeli strikes, Mr Tajani said he hoped the Rome talks would “yield concrete results”.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said direct negotiations would deliver “nothing but shame, humiliation” and a string of concessions for Lebanon.
Hezbollah has repeatedly opposed direct talks and says it will not hand over its weapons.
Levels of violence in Lebanon have fallen since the Lebanon-Israel deal and the signing in June of a preliminary US-Iran agreement on the Middle East conflict.
Still, Lebanon continues to report sporadic Israeli strikes and shelling, along with detonations and demolitions in southern villages.
Since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah broke out in early March, Israel’s military has lost 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor.
