An Israeli airstrike hit a cemetery in the southern Lebanese town of Tebnine on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding at least 11, according to Lebanon's health ministry. The strike damaged the roof of a mosque on the cemetery grounds. Israel issued an evacuation order roughly 30 minutes before the attack and urged residents of nearby al-Mansouri to flee immediately northward.
The Israeli military said the strikes were a response to a Hezbollah ceasefire violation that killed two soldiers in an explosive trap on Wednesday. Israel has occupied parts of southern Lebanon as a security zone since a June ceasefire and issued its first evacuation warning in weeks.
The violence coincides with the seventh round of U.S.-mediated peace talks between Lebanon and Israel in Rome, which began Tuesday. A June framework agreement envisions a gradual Israeli withdrawal and deployment of the Lebanese army to pilot zones. Hezbollah leader Naïm Qassem criticized the direct negotiations, drawing a sharp rebuke from Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.