The Israeli military has fired on villages in southern Lebanon, injuring at least two people, despite the ceasefire with the Hezbollah militia, the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported on Thursday.
Two people were injured by Israeli fire in the village of Markaba, NNA said. Tanks also reportedly fired on the villages of Wasani and Kfar Shuba.
All three villages are located near the Israeli border in south-eastern Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that several suspected Hezbollah fighters had arrived in vehicles in various parts of southern Lebanon, violating the terms of the ceasefire.
“The IDF opened fire on them,” it said, adding that the military would remain in southern Lebanon and punish any violations of the agreement.
It also said it had fired a defensive missile at a “suspicious aircraft” in Lebanon, but that this had been misidentified.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, which came into force early on Wednesday morning, the Iran-allied Hezbollah is to withdraw behind the Litani River, about 30 kilometres north of the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The 60-day ceasefire is designed to put an end to the fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militia that began over a year ago.
