The Israeli military said it killed several Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon overnight, while an Israeli soldier was moderately injured during operations in the area despite a ceasefire.
The military said troops spotted several Hezbollah fighters inside what Israel calls a “security zone” in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces remain deployed.
Israeli military reports strikes
According to the Israeli military, troops carried out strikes after identifying the fighters, saying the operation was aimed at eliminating a threat to its forces.
“Following the identification, the soldiers struck the terrorists and eliminated them in order to remove the threat,” the military said.
It added that Israeli forces would continue operations to prevent threats to their troops and Israeli civilians.
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The military earlier said an Israeli soldier was moderately wounded and later evacuated to a hospital for treatment.
The Iran-backed group has not claimed responsibility for any attacks since June 20.
Ceasefire framework remains fragile
The latest violence comes despite a US-backed framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel in late June aimed at ending hostilities.
Under the agreement, Lebanon’s army is expected to disarm Hezbollah, while Israeli forces are to withdraw from designated “pilot zones” inside Lebanon, allowing Lebanese troops to deploy there.
Hezbollah has rejected the framework and refused to give up its weapons. There is also no fixed timeline for a complete Israeli withdrawal.
Despite a decline in violence following a preliminary US-Iran agreement in June and the Lebanon-Israel deal, Lebanon continues to report intermittent Israeli strikes and artillery fire in the south.
Lebanon’s army last week criticised continued Israeli military activity, saying it was hindering the deployment of its forces under the agreement.
Since the Israel-Hezbollah war erupted in early March, Israel’s military has reported 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor killed.
With inputs from AFP