The Israeli army has said it killed six people, whom Hezbollah says were civilians, in southern Lebanon amid continued violations of an ongoing US-brokered ceasefire by Tel Aviv.
An Israeli military statement on Thursday claimed the victims were Hezbollah fighters and “posed a threat” to army forces in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Ali al-Taher heights.
The Israeli army, however, did not provide independent evidence to verify the identities of the dead or the nature of the alleged threat to its forces.
Hezbollah said an Israeli drone strike targeting civilians in southern Lebanon constituted a “flagrant“ violation of the ceasefire, despite its own continued commitment to the truce.
In a statement, the Lebanese group said the strike targeted two civilians in the town of Kfar Reman in Nabatieh district, killing both.
The group described the attack as the second deliberate targeting of Lebanese civilians by the Israeli army within 48 hours.
Hezbollah said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement while continuing to monitor and document Israeli violations.
In a later statement, it denied a claim by the Israeli army that Israeli forces killed Hezbollah members in the town of Zawtar in southern Lebanon on Thursday and said the targets were displaced civilians who were checking their homes.
Earlier, Lebanon’s state news agency said two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting an SUV on the road between Tall al-Dabsha and Douha Kfar Reman in Nabatieh.
In a separate incident, an Israeli drone dropped two stun grenades on the town of Baraashit in Bint Jbeil district, according to the agency.
The attacks came a day after two people were killed and a third was wounded by Israel while carrying out road work in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
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Israeli invasion
Meanwhile, the Israeli army claimed it had begun withdrawing some combat brigades from southern Lebanon back into Israel amid the ongoing Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
The Army Radio, citing military correspondent Doron Kadosh, said the army has started reducing its forces in southern Lebanon and pulling some combat brigades back into Israel.
