The Israel Defense Forces said it struck armed Hezbollah operatives spotted near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon in two separate incidents on Tuesday, as Jerusalem and Beirut kicked off another round of direct talks in Washington.

In the first incident, the IDF said a cell of Hezbollah gunmen was spotted in the Ali Taher ridge area, close to Nabatieh and north of the Israeli-held security zone in southern Lebanon. It said the operatives were targeted by troops “to remove the threat.”

Lebanese media reported that  Israeli fire in the area killed two and injured two in the incident.

Hezbollah disputed the claim that the targets of the strike were terror operatives, and accused Israel of opening fire on a “group of civilians” who were “working to clear roads and recover the bodies of martyrs from beneath the rubble” near Nabatieh.

The Iran-backed terror group claimed that in doing so, Israel had violated the terms of a ceasefire that has largely held since Sunday.

“What the enemy has done constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire, which [Hezbollah] has adhered to until now,” it added.

In a separate incident several hours later, the IDF said it fired on four Hezbollah operatives who crossed into Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon.

According to the military, troops spotted the four Hezbollah operatives crossing into the zone in a bulldozer and on a motorcycle near the Ali Taher ridge, “in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”

After detecting the operatives, troops fired warning shots toward them.

“After the operatives continued to approach and did not respond to the forces’ calls, additional fire was carried out in order to remove the threat,” the military said, adding that at least one was hit.

The flare-up in southern Lebanon came as representatives from Beirut and Jerusalem gathered in Washington for another round of direct talks hosted by the US State Department.

Tuesday’s session was expected to focus on both political and security issues, before........

© The Times of Israel