Israel says it killed several Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military announced Saturday that its forces killed several Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, an operation that also resulted in moderate injuries to an Israeli soldier. The military stated that soldiers engaged and eliminated the fighters after identifying them within what Israel designates as a "security zone" in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces affirmed their commitment to operating within the zone to neutralize threats and prevent Hezbollah from harming Israeli civilians. The military confirmed the injured soldier was evacuated for medical treatment. Hezbollah, when contacted by AFP in Beirut, offered no immediate comment. The group has not claimed responsibility for any attacks since June 20.

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Following the identification, the soldiers struck the (fighters) and eliminated them in order to remove the threat.

Efforts to de-escalate tensions include a U.S.-sponsored framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel in late June. This deal proposes the Lebanese army disarming Hezbollah while Israeli forces withdraw from designated "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, where Lebanese forces would then deploy. However, Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the agreement and its disarmament terms, and no timeline has been set for a full Israeli withdrawal.

The conflict intensified after Hezbollah's rocket fire into Israel on March 2, drawing Lebanon into the wider regional conflict. While violence has decreased since a preliminary U.S.-Iran deal and the Lebanon-Israel agreement, intermittent Israeli strikes and artillery shelling continue in southern Lebanon. Lebanon's army has condemned these ongoing Israeli activities, citing them as obstacles to its deployment under the framework deal. Since the conflict began in early March, Israel's military has reported 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor killed.

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Israeli forces will continue to operate to remove any threat to its soldiers and will not allow ... Hezbollah ... to harm Israeli civilians.