The military stated that the two reservists killed in battle on Wednesday are 34-year-old Major Harel Birenstock and 33-year-old Senior Sergeant Tamir Vaknin.
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These are the first Israeli soldier deaths in southern Lebanon reported since June 28.
Israeli strikes, along with the first evacuation warning in some time, were delivered while a U.S.-led diplomatic process between Israel and Lebanon was ongoing in Rome. The negotiations aim to end hostilities, with Beirut demanding a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
“In response to the terrorist organization Hezbollah’s clear violation of the ceasefire, the military has launched precise strikes in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement released shortly after residents were ordered to evacuate Mansouri in the south.
Lebanese state media reported that one person was killed and 11 injured in another strike.
“Misleading leaks”
In Rome, Israel requested that today’s talks with Lebanon end three hours earlier, a source involved in the negotiations told AFP.
According to him, the head of the Israeli delegation, Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, accused the Lebanese side of alleged “misleading leaks” because of this.
However, talks are expected to resume on Thursday for the third and final day.
In June, during earlier U.S.-backed talks, Israel and Lebanon agreed on the basics of an agreement that includes Hezbollah’s disarmament, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the region, starting with areas called “pilot zones.”
This week’s talks are the seventh round since March, when Hezbollah, supporting its backer Iran and firing rockets at Israel, drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict.
Israel responded with heavy air strikes and a ground invasion, during which, according to Lebanon, more than 4,300 people were killed.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military issued its first such warning since June and instructed Mansouri residents: “Given Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces are forced to use force against it.”
“For your own safety, you must immediately evacuate your homes and travel north,” wrote military spokesperson Ella Waweya in Arabic on the social network X.
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The United Nations (UN) humanitarian agency reported the day before that more than 800,000 people forced to leave their homes due to previous fighting in Lebanon have begun returning home following a lull in violence, although over 360,000 people remain displaced.
“Shame, humiliation”
The city of Mansouri, located about 9 km south of Tyre and 10 km north of Israel, and its surroundings have experienced several Israeli strikes and artillery shelling in recent weeks, despite the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel that took effect in June.
The city municipality informed residents on June 22 that they could return but asked them to avoid the part of the city that falls within the so-called Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon.
The “security zone” refers to a roughly 10 km long stretch of territory in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel, where Israeli forces continue to operate.
A U.S. State Department official told AFP that this week’s discussions will “review the expansion of the pilot zone process, address all unresolved border issues, and work towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement.”
As delegations met in Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke with the head of Iranian diplomacy – the main backer of Hezbollah – and urged Tehran to halt the group’s operations.
In a post published just before the Israeli strikes, A. Tajani expressed hope that the talks “will yield tangible results.”
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Tuesday that direct talks would bring Lebanon “only shame, humiliation” and a series of concessions.
Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected direct talks and refuses to disarm.
Violence in Lebanon has decreased following the Lebanon-Israel agreement and a preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement on the Middle East conflict signed in June.
However, Lebanon continues to report isolated Israeli strikes and shelling, as well as explosions and demolitions in southern villages.
Since early March, when the war between Israel and Hezbollah began, the Israeli military has lost 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor.
