Israel launches fresh strikes on southern Lebanon amid ceasefire talks in Rome

Israel issued its first evacuation order in southern Lebanon since June and launched fresh strikes in the area, underlining the fragility of a ceasefire between the two countries, as well as concerns that the move could reopen a front in Israel’s broader conflict with Iran.

It comes as Lebanese and Israeli officials are meeting for talks in Rome this week to cement the terms of the June ceasefire — and Iran could reach a deal on the Strait of Hormuz by Friday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered residents of the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri to leave on Wednesday afternoon, later saying that it had begun carrying out what it described as “precise strikes” against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in response to a “complete violation of the ceasefire.”

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes launched two air raids on the outskirts of Mansouri, south of Tyre, which coincided with shelling outside the town of Majdal Zoun. Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said one person was killed and 12 others were injured in an airstrike on the area of Tebnin.

During the war between Israel and Hezbollah, evacuation warnings for communities in southern Lebanon became a near-daily occurrence as Israeli forces targeted the area. Wednesday’s evacuation order is the first from the IDF since June 10 and since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect.

Under the June 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel said it would withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon, transferring the sites to the Lebanese military.

The latest negotiations, which Iranian-backed Hezbollah opposes, are expected to wrap up in Rome on Thursday. It is the seventh round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.

-CNN