Three Lebanese soldiers were wounded while trying to defuse unexploded ordnance in Zawtar al-Gharbiyah in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army said. The incident followed reports from the village mayor and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency that Israeli troops entered the village overnight and built an earth barrier.
Mayor Abed Ezzeddine said the barrier was about 100 metres from the village square. An AFP correspondent confirmed that it blocked a road at the eastern entrance, while the Israeli military told AFP it was “not aware of such an event in this area”.
At a glance:
- The Lebanese army deployed to Zawtar al-Gharbiyah on July 21, and about 50 families had returned, according to the mayor.
- The village is one of two pilot zones covered by a US-sponsored framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel on June 26.
- The agreement envisions a phased Israeli withdrawal in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament, according to the report.
What happened in Zawtar al-Gharbiyah
The Lebanese army was clearing mines and other unexploded ordnance in the village when three soldiers were injured, according to the army. The reported barrier appeared hours earlier, after Israeli troops allegedly entered shortly after midnight, the National News Agency reported.
A Lebanese military source described the reported move as a violation of the framework accord. Israel denied knowledge of an event in the area, leaving the accounts of the troop movement disputed.
Why the village is part of the agreement
Zawtar al-Gharbiyah was placed under Lebanese army control as part of the June 26 framework agreement with Israel. The army deployed there on July 21, after Israeli troops had been positioned on the village’s outskirts, Mayor Ezzeddine said.
The deployment was intended to support mine clearance, rubble removal and the return of residents. The mayor said about 50 families had returned since the Lebanese army arrived.
Other reported attacks and negotiations
Al Jazeera correspondent Ihab al-Aqadi reported shelling in the nearby town of Mansouri on Saturday, where residents remained unable to return after evacuation orders and intermittent gunfire. He said a bulldozer clearing roads there was damaged by a bomb explosion the previous day.
The correspondent also reported Israeli bulldozing near Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, drone strikes on open ground in Mayfadoun and continued ground incursions in Kfar Shouba, Hasbaya and Haddatha. Lebanon and Israel completed a seventh round of direct, US-mediated talks in Rome on Thursday; President Joseph Aoun said Beirut had made positive progress on border and prisoner issues.
Separate Israeli military report
Israel said one soldier was wounded in southern Lebanon on Saturday. Israel’s military, cited by Channel 12, said the soldier sustained moderate injuries in an operational incident and was taken to hospital.
Israel Army Radio reported that the soldier was a combat engineer from the 607th Engineering Battalion who was hit by shrapnel from Israeli fire in the border village of Tayri. Lebanon was preparing for another round of talks in September, according to the report.
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