Two injured by Israeli shelling as troops advance in southern Lebanon

Israeli artillery shelling has injured two people in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops separately advanced towards border towns and clashed with Lebanese soldiers.

The two people were injured in shelling on Chaqra in the Bint Jbeil district of Nabatieh governorate and were taken to Tebnin hospital, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.

Israeli artillery shells also fell in Wadi Nahla on the outskirts of Shuqra, the agency added, and Israeli forces withdrew from the outskirts of Deir Mimas in Marjayoun after advancing earlier in the day towards the entrance to the town.

Israel has been occupying a swath of southern Lebanon since war broke out in March between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The Lebanese army is supposed to gradually take control of the area under a June framework agreement between the two countries.

The standoff around Deir Mimas began when two Israeli tanks advanced along a road towards the town and stopped in front of a dirt barricade with Lebanese army vehicles stationed on the other side.

The Lebanese military said its army patrol had established a temporary observation post on the outskirts of Deir Mimas on September 10 in coordination with the military coordination group for Lebanon, the US-backed trilateral body that manages deconfliction between Israel and Lebanon.

“An Israeli occupation force approached the newly established post located within the so-called security zone and threw sound bombs in the vicinity,” the army said in a statement. “In response, the [Lebanese] army reinforced the post, and a state of alert ensued between the two sides.”

National News Agency reported that Israeli forces then withdrew, retreating to their position in neighbouring Tell en-Nhas. Meanwhile, Lebanese troops returned to their main base in the town after contacting the deconfliction group, the Lebanese army said.