BEIRUT: Israel carried out new strikes in southern Lebanon that it said targeted the Lebanese group Hezbollah on Friday, hours before the two countries' envoys were set to meet for a second day of peace talks in Washington. A truce in the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has been in place since April 17, but it has not stopped the fighting, with hundreds killed in strikes since then and both sides accusing the other of violations.
The US described the first day of talks in Washington on Thursday as positive and the two sides were set to resume the negotiations on Friday, but neither Lebanon or Israel have commented as the attacks continued. "The IDF has begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the area of Tyre in southern Lebanon", the Israeli military said in a statement.
A correspondent said at least two strikes hit locations near Tyre city, while state media reported a third targeted a centre run by a local NGO near a hospital, injuring seven people including two nurses. The Israeli army had earlier issued evacuation warnings for five towns and villages in and around the southern city. In a separate statement, the military said an Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, bringing the number of Israeli soldiers killed in clashes with Hezbollah since early March to 19. A civilian contractor was also killed.
Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported other drone strikes on locations in the south not included in the Israeli evacuation warnings. The talks in Washington were focused on the shaky ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday if an extension is not agreed.
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Israeli attacks since then have killed more than 2,800 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce took effect, according to Lebanese authorities.
The negotiating teams in Washington are being led by Lebanon's Simon Karam and Israel's Yechiel Leiter, both political veterans with entrenched views. A former ambassador to Washington and independent politician, 76-year-old Karam is known for his defence of Lebanese unity in a country riven by sectarian divisions. Leiter is Israel's ambassador to the United States and a longtime ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and is well-versed in Israeli settler politics, conservative activism and hard-edged diplomacy. Hezbollah, meanwhile, rejects outright any direct engagement between the two countries, with a lawmaker for the group, Ali Ammar, saying on Thursday that the talks amounted to "free concessions" to Israel.
The United States has backed Lebanon's calls to maintain sovereignty over all its territory but also repeatedly pressed it to take action against Hezbollah. The United States "recognises that comprehensive peace is contingent on the full restoration of Lebanese state authority and the complete disarmament of Hezbollah", a State Department statement said. "These talks aim to break decisively from the failed approach of the past two decades, which allowed terrorist groups to entrench and enrich themselves, undermine the authority of the Lebanese state, and endanger Israel's northern border", it said.
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