Hezbollah accused Israeli forces of opening machine-gun fire at a group of civilians clearing roads and recovering bodies from rubble in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, killing two people, including a municipality worker. The group warned the attack constitutes a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire it says it has upheld.
Hezbollah issued a statement Tuesday afternoon claiming Israeli forces killed two civilians in the city of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, by opening machine-gun fire at a group clearing roads and recovering bodies from collapsed buildings. The group identified one of the dead as a municipality employee and said the attack was a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire it has observed. The IDF has not yet commented on the allegation.
The reported incident comes hours after The Zioneer reported that the IDF struck Nabatieh al-Fawqa earlier Tuesday, killing two people according to Lebanese sources (related but separate event). It also follows a pattern of mutual accusations of ceasefire violations: The Zioneer has previously reported on Hezbollah firing anti-tank missiles at Israeli forces near Nabatieh (June 15) and the IDF striking Hezbollah operatives in the same area (June 16, June 19). The latest claim shifts the focus to civilian casualties, a charge that — if independently verified — would mark a serious escalation in the fragile post-ceasefire environment.
The statement is based on a single source, a Hezbollah announcement carried by the source; no independent Israeli, Lebanese, or international confirmation is available as of 13:37 Jerusalem.
2 developments
- DevelopingHezbollah accuses Israel of blatant ceasefire violation after strike near Nabatieh
- ConfirmedIDF reportedly strikes Nabatieh area after Hezbollah fire at Israeli forces
- DevelopingIDF kills two Hezbollah operatives fleeing rocket launch site in southern Lebanon
- StrongIDF confirms elimination of two Hezbollah operatives near Nabatieh
Source and signal
- Internal intake