Israel military to keep operating in south Lebanon

TEL AVIV: The Israeli military said on Thursday that it will continue operating in southern Lebanon and 'remove threats' beyond its so-called security zone, after the US and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war, including in Lebanon. The military published a map of its declared 'security zone' — which runs some 10 kilometres inside Lebanese territory. It said troops would continue to be deployed there 'to remove threats and strengthen the defence of Israel's northern residents'.
In a later statement, an Israeli military official said the army 'will continue to remove threats to IDF soldiers and the civilians of the State of Israel that are identified beyond the security zone'. The announcement came after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday meant to end the Middle East war, with fighting supposed to be halted on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed three people on Thursday, according to Lebanese state media, hours after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war. 'An enemy drone targeted a car' in the Kfar Tebnit area, killing two people, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported, raising an earlier toll of one dead. In the neighbouring village of Zebdine, another drone killed one more person, NNA said.
Israel's military, meanwhile, announced the death of one of its soldiers the night before in an incident in south Lebanon that also left seven others wounded. The military official on Thursday called on the Lebanese Armed Forces to operate in coordination with Israeli forces and urged Lebanese civilians to avoid entering the security zone.
Since Iran and the US announced they had reached an agreement on Monday, there has been a sharp decrease in the level of violence in Lebanon. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of the Islamic republic's supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli campaign. Israel retaliated with broad strikes across Lebanon and by launching a ground invasion into the south, which borders Israel and has long been under Hezbollah's sway.
Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and separate their conflict from the wider regional war. 'Further steps are still being discussed within the framework of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon,' the Israeli military official said on Thursday, adding that 'the representatives will reconvene next week'.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Wednesday urged Lebanese authorities to take advantage of a 'pivotal' moment following a US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war, ahead of Israeli-Lebanese negotiations next week. American and Iranian officials, as well as mediator Pakistan, have said the deal includes Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun instead insisted his country's negotiations with Israel in Washington were independent of the regional deal.
In a televised address, Qassem hailed the deal as a 'great victory' for Iran, thanking it for 'linking the Lebanese arena' to the accord and 'forcing Israel to stop its aggression' on the country. — AFP