• Israel launches deadly air strikes on southern Lebanon after an explosion killed two Israeli soldiers in Majdal Selem.

Israel’s military confirms death of 2 soldiers in Lebanon

The Israeli military has issued a statement on the death of the two reserve soldiers in Lebanon yesterday, saying they were killed in combat.

It said four others were severely injured and were evacuated to a hospital.

The soldiers were killed in an explosion in the Lebanese town of Majdal Zoun, the military said.

It has since launched a series of attacks across southern Lebanon, killing at least one person.

These soldiers killed themselves by failing to take caution when they and other soldiers entered a booby tapped building. They were not engaging Hezbollah, as the town has been occupied by the Israelis, and no residents and resistance remained in the town.

Several people wounded in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon

Several people have been wounded in overnight Israeli air strikes on the towns of Burj Shemali and al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon, according to the National News Agency.

The wounded in Burj Shemali were taken to hospitals in the city, the agency reported.

Israeli artillery shelling also continued until this morning, targeting Majdal Zoun, al-Mansouri and surrounding valleys. The outskirts of Haddatha were also shelled, while machinegun fire was directed towards the coastal al-Hamra area in Bayt al-Sayyad.

Four wounded as Israeli forces step up attacks on southern Lebanon

Israeli forces have escalated attacks across the district of Tyre in southern Lebanon, wounding at least four people and forcing many residents to flee their homes, reports the official National News Agency (NNA).

Israeli forces launched three drone attacks on the town of Burj Shemali, followed by a fourth strike by a jet on the same location, causing the injuries, NNA reported.

The victims were transferred to hospital, while many residents fled towards the city of Tyre.

Israeli jets also struck the town of al-Mansouri and the open land between al-Mansouri and Majdal Zoun three times, alongside artillery and tank fire, NNA added.

The agency also reported continuous Israeli artillery shelling from Wednesday evening into this morning, targeting al-Mansouri, Majdal Zoun, and nearby valleys, and expanding at dawn to the outskirts of Haddatha. Additionally, Israeli forces fired machineguns towards the coastal al-Hamra area in Biyout al-Siyad, NNA said.

What are the Israel-Lebanon talks about?

Lebanese and Israeli negotiators continue a third day of US-brokered talks in Rome today, amid Israel’s occupation of and continued military operations in southern Lebanon.

It’s the seventh round of face-to-face talks following earlier sessions in Washington.

Lebanon wants Israel to withdraw from roughly 60 villages and towns occupied since March and to halt its bombing campaign. Israel wants Lebanon’s army to fully dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.

On June 26, both sides agreed to a “pilot zone” withdrawal from three villages – Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Froun and Srifa, with the Lebanese army taking over security and pushing back Hezbollah. But Lebanese authorities say Israel’s limited withdrawal and ongoing operations nearby are slowing full deployment. Our colleagues on the ground say Israeli forces remain just meters from parts of Zawtar al-Gharbieh even as displaced residents return, while in non-pilot zones like Nabatieh, Israel continues attacks, surveillance and land burning.

Israeli officials say no further withdrawals will happen until Hezbollah disarms.

Over the first two days of the current round of talks, negotiators focused on a verification process for the withdrawal and disarmament, with Italy floated as a possible third-party verifier, the Anadolu agency reported, citing a Lebanese official. A key sticking point is Nabatieh’s Ali al-Taher Hill, which Israel says houses a Hezbollah underground centre, the official said.

Hezbollah, which is not a party to the talks, has condemned them and said it would only withdraw south of the Litani River, not areas north of it – where Nabatieh and the ridge lie. The killing of two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon yesterday could also affect the talks’ trajectory.

Israeli army says it has returned colonists who crossed into Lebanon

About 15 Israeli citizens illegally entered Lebanon after damaging the border fence on Wednesday, according to Israel’s military.

The area they crossed into lies on the border between Lebanon and the occupied Golan Heights, near the village of Ghajar, Israeli media reports said.

Israeli forces who rushed to the spot worked to locate them and returned them to Israeli territory, the army said, adding that they were detained and transferred to the Israeli police for further questioning.

The army said it “strongly condemns the incident, which constitutes another case of serious disruption to operational activity and a danger to the security” of its forces.

Lebanon says 8 injured in Israeli attacks on Burj Shemali

The Lebanese Health Ministry says the injuries occurred after the Israeli army carried out air raids on the town in the south of the country overnight Wednesday.

HRW says Israel’s killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was ‘war crime’

Israeli air attacks that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her camera operator Zainab Faraj earlier this year were “deliberate” and are thus “war crimes”, Human Rights Watch has said.

Khalil, an Al Akhbar reporter, was killed on April 22 in the southern town of at-Tiri while reporting on Israeli hostilities in southern Lebanon.

HRW said evidence, including a request from the UN mission in Lebanon and the Red Cross, showed Israeli forces knew the journalists were in the building Israel struck.

The rights group also revealed that Khalil was likely still alive when Israeli forces prevented rescue teams from accessing the journalists’ location.

“The evidence is clear that the Israeli military knew, or should have known, that Faraj and Khalil were civilians, but attacked them anyway, and then prevented paramedics from rescuing them for hours,” Ramzi Kaiss of HRW said in a statement.

Israel air strikes hit al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon

Two Israeli air strikes have hit the town of al-Mansouri in the Tyre district in mid-afternoon.

UNIFIL reports significant increase in Israeli projectiles launched against southern Lebanon

The Israeli army launched 113 projectiles on southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said.

The uptick marks the biggest single-day violation of Lebanon’s airspace since June 21 – the days leading up to the June 26 “pilot zone” withdrawal deal between the two sides.

Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome conclude

The latest round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel has ended in Rome, Italy, our correspondent reports.

The US-brokered talks lasted for three days amid Israel’s continuing military campaign in southern Lebanon.

It’s the seventh round of face-to-face talks following earlier sessions in Washington.

US says latest round of Israel-Lebanon talks ‘fruitful’

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott says in a statement that “the talks between Lebanon and Israel were fruitful” at the technical level.

“Lebanon and Israel are much closer to reaching an agreement on advancing and expanding the pilot zones process”, he said.

The latest round of direct talks, the seventh overall, just wrapped up in Rome, Italy.

Israeli drone attack reported in southern Lebanon’s Mayfadoun

Israel has carried out a drone attack on Mayfadoun in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, the state-run National News Agency is reporting.

No casualties were reported.

The Israeli army has escalated its assault on southern Lebanon, with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon counting 113 projectiles launched on Wednesday alone.

Situation in southern Lebanon ‘precarious’ amid renewed Israeli strikes

There were powerful blasts in the past hour as two air strikes targeted the town of al-Mansouri.

It wasn’t the first time al-Mansouri was targeted in the past 24 hours: In fact, 24 hours ago, the Israeli army issued forced displacement orders – telling the residents of the town to leave. It was the first time they issued such orders in recent weeks, since the lull in the fighting after the ceasefire was announced.

Overnight, in the village of Burj Shamali a few kilometers south, there was an air strike that totally destroyed a house. It was preceded by three drone strikes that allowed the family to leave. Eight people were wounded nevertheless.

There was also a drone strike that killed a person in Tibnin. Burj Shamali and Tibnin are villages quite far from Israel’s occupation zone.

They occupy more than 60 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, so striking deeper inside Lebanon is seen as an escalation.

The situation is very fragile and precarious.

Israeli artillery attack on town in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army has fired artillery shells on the town of Hadatha in Bint Jbeil district, reports Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Israel has picked up the pace of attacks on Lebanon since yesterday, issuing forced displacement orders in the town of Mansouri.