Daijiworld Media Network - Beirut
Beirut, Jun 25: Three people were killed and another injured in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon, even as senior Israeli and Lebanese officials held the final day of ceasefire talks in Washington.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), the attack targeted a car on the road between Zawtar and Mayfadoun in Nabatieh Governorate on Thursday, killing three people.
The NNA also reported that Israeli forces set fire to several houses in the town of Ain Arab after residents were warned to evacuate before 5 pm on Wednesday.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said that since the conflict began on March 2, a total of 4,230 people have been killed and 12,179 others injured.
Reporting from Nabatieh, Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr said the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remains “fragile”, with Israeli forces continuing strikes in areas near front-line villages.
She said Israeli forces have been targeting areas under their occupation and warned residents against approaching those locations, with drone strikes and other attacks reported in recent days.
Khodr said Israel was seeking to maintain control over these areas as territorial control provides greater leverage during negotiations, while officials from Lebanon and Israel discuss a possible gradual transfer of territory.
The United States-backed negotiations between Israel and Lebanon concluded in Washington on Thursday after three days of discussions. The talks focused on a possible withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas occupied during fighting with Hezbollah and the transfer of control to the Lebanese military.
A US State Department official told Reuters that Israel had taken a “concrete step” towards the proposal by withdrawing from part of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
However, a senior Israeli defence official denied that any withdrawal had taken place, saying Israel would not leave the buffer zone.
A senior Lebanese military official also told Reuters that recent developments on the ground indicated the “opposite of a pullback”.
Despite the disagreements, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel and Lebanon were making progress towards a “commitment of intent”.
“I think we are very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of intent between the two countries,” Rubio said during his visit to Bahrain.
He added that the process would take time and effort but said it marked the first time in three decades that Lebanon’s sovereign government was directly engaging with Israel.
Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks with Israel in Washington in April.
However, Hezbollah has opposed the negotiations, demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon before any agreement is reached.