2 soldiers killed in Lebanon in the first Israeli deaths since June truce with Hezbollah

The Israeli military said Thursday that two of its soldiers were killed in an explosion in southern Lebanon in the first Israeli deaths since the implementation of a shaky truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in June.

The Israeli military said Thursday that two of its soldiers were killed in an explosion in southern Lebanon in the first Israeli deaths since the implementation of a shaky truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in June.

Four other soldiers were seriously wounded, the military said. The deaths had been reported by Israeli media a day earlier. An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with the army’s policy, said that “an explosion was detonated” when the soldiers entered a site in the village of Majdal Zoun and that the nature of the explosive was under review.

The Israeli army launched strikes Wednesday in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire and issued a call for residents of the village of Mansouri to flee — the first such warning Israel has issued in Lebanon for weeks.

There was no immediate statement from Hezbollah.

The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome to discuss implementation of a June 26 deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon and allow the Lebanese army to take control, in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.