Beirut, Aug. 2 (SANA) Five Lebanese soldiers were wounded on Sunday in an Israeli strike while escorting civilians in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army said, in the latest cross-border incident despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to stabilize the border.
The Lebanese Armed Forces said in a statement posted on X that the soldiers were injured after Israeli forces targeted them in the town of Kafra in the Bint Jbeil district while escorting a military vehicle assisting local residents.
The incident follows the death of a Lebanese soldier and the wounding of two others last month in an explosion that struck a military vehicle in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon.
The attack comes after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said last week it had recorded 80 Israeli airspace violations involving drones and fighter jets, as well as ground incursions, over a three-day period ending July 31.
UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said the peacekeeping mission also observed artillery shelling, mortar fire and multiple Israeli strikes north of the Litani River, along with increased movements of armored vehicles and engineering activity.
The latest incident comes days after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to implementing the framework agreement reached in Washington with Israel.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Aoun said the agreement’s success depends on a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the simultaneous deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces and a permanent end to Israeli attacks.
The U.S.-brokered framework agreement, signed in Washington on June 26, calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces and broader security arrangements.
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