Two Lebanese officers and one soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in south Lebanon, the Lebanese military said Saturday, days after the two countries announced a conditional truce following talks in the United States.
Later, the Israeli military said it targeted the vehicle after identifying what it described as a threat to its forces and receiving indications that Hezbollah was preparing to fire on Israeli troops from the area.
It said an initial inquiry showed that two Lebanese army officers and a soldier were inside the vehicle and that the incident was under review.
A ceasefire that was supposed to end the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, but has not been respected.
Hezbollah and Israel have frequently exchanged accusations of violating the truce, with each side justifying its attacks with alleged violations committed by the other side.
A further conditional truce was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys this week in Washington.
It would require Hezbollah to stop firing, withdraw from near the Israeli border and would see Lebanon's army deploy to new "pilot zones" in the area, where it will exercise exclusive control.
But Hezbollah has rejected the agreement, calling for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
On Saturday, Israel renewed evacuation orders for five villages in Lebanon's south and east, telling residents to move north of the Zahrani River.
"In light of the terrorist Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is forced to act against it with force," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on Telegram.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in an interview with CNN that aired on Friday that Iran must stop interfering in Lebanon.
"It's not your country, it's our country," he said. "It's not your job to interfere into our country."
"They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the United States. It's unacceptable," he added.
"Hezbollah must understand that (there is) no other way but to sit and talk, no other way to solve this problem and to save what's left except through negotiation and diplomacy," Aoun added.
"The majority of the Lebanese people are fed up with war."
