Two people were killed and another was wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa on Tuesday, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health.
The ministry's Emergency Operations Centre said in a statement that Israeli gunfire targeting the town resulted in two fatalities and one injury.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli soldiers fired machine guns at a group of people near a bulldozer carrying out cleanup operations in the area.
One man was killed in the attack, while a second person later died from wounds sustained in the shooting, the agency reported.
A Lebanese security source told dpa that the bulldozers had been removing rubble in an effort to recover the bodies of two fighters from the area.
Israel confirms strike
The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the strike, saying it had targeted what it described as "armed terrorists" who posed an "immediate threat." The claims could not be independently verified.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had identified a cell of armed terrorists operating in close proximity to IDF soldiers in the Security Zone in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area, which is a hill in the Nabatiyeh area.
Following the identification, the soldiers attacked the group north of the Security Zone in order to remove the threat, the IDF said on its Telegram channel.
Iran-backed Hezbollah condemned the incident as a "treacherous attack" and an "open violation" of the ceasefire agreement. The group said the victims were civilians and added that one of those killed was a municipal employee.
In another incident on Tuesday, IDF soldiers fired warning shots at what they said were "four Hezbollah terrorists riding a bulldozer and a motorcycle who had crossed into the security zone and approached the soldiers, posing an immediate threat."
The four failed to heed warning shots, so additional shots were fired and hits recorded, it said, without reporting on the casualties, if any.
The IDF said some of the Hezbollah fighters were operating under civilian cover in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area, which is yet "another example of the cynical use the organization makes of Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure as a shield for its operations."
The incidents come despite a ceasefire aimed at halting hostilities between Israel and armed groups in Lebanon.
Israeli forces continue to maintain positions inside Lebanese territory. According to recent statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli troops will continue operating in Lebanon despite the ceasefire.
