Multiple casualties have been reported in southern Lebanon, where a fragile ceasefire has been in place following an end-of-war agreement between the United States and Iran, after Israeli forces opened fire.

The Israeli military claims it eliminated Hezbollah militants who posed a threat, while Hezbollah counters that the Israeli forces fired upon innocent civilians.

According to local media and foreign reports on June 23 (local time), two people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting earlier that morning in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that four men near a bulldozer clearing a road were struck by machine-gun fire from Israeli forces.

In a statement, the Israeli military claimed, "Hezbollah militants appeared near Israeli troops. We targeted them to eliminate the threat."

However, Hezbollah retorted, "The Israeli military attacked civilians who were clearing roads and recovering the bodies of martyrs buried under the rubble."

Hezbollah further stated, "We strongly warn that this act by the enemy (Israel) is a clear and blatant violation of the ceasefire we have been observing."

Additional casualties from Israeli gunfire were reported later that afternoon as well.

The Israeli military announced that its troops opened fire on four Hezbollah militants who had crossed into an Israeli-controlled security zone in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military explained, "We spotted four Hezbollah members entering the security zone around the Ali al-Tahir ridge near Nabatieh, where we are currently conducting operations, on a bulldozer and a motorcycle."

The military added that their approach "posed an immediate threat."

The successive shootings occurred at a sensitive time as Iran demands that the U.S. guarantee an end to the war in Lebanon, amidst follow-up negotiations regarding the end-of-war agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran, which recently held its first high-level and working-level talks with the U.S. in Switzerland, insists that the commencement of follow-up nuclear negotiations is contingent upon the implementation of Article 13 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on ending the war.

Article 13 of the MOU stipulates that final negotiations can only begin once measures are taken to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon; lift the U.S. maritime blockade; reopen the Strait of Hormuz for Iran; and address sanctions, such as permitting the export of Iranian crude oil and petrochemical products and unfreezing Iranian assets.

Consequently, there are concerns that the repeated firing by Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon and the resulting casualties could dampen diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)