2 people died in an Israeli drone strike in an incident in South Lebanon

An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed two people on Thursday, medical and security sources said.

It is the second day in a row that an incident like this has occurred, after a similar strike on Wednesday that killed at least two people despite a ceasefire, security and medical sources in Lebanon told Reuters.

Meanwhile, senior Israeli and Lebanese officials denied on Thursday that Israel had ever withdrawn from territory under Lebanon, after a US official said Israel had withdrawn some troops back in loyalty to the Lebanese government.

Israel and Lebanon have been discussing a US-backed proposal for the Israeli army to hand over to the Lebanese army some of the territory it had won in its war with Hezbollah, a move that could lead to regaining control of Lebanon’s south.

The “airport” proposal was part of the recent US-brokered Israeli-Lebanon talks in Washington, which have resumed as they appear to have been overshadowed by Iran’s move to make Lebanon the focus of its talks with Washington.

A US State Department official said “Israel has already taken a concrete step by withdrawing from part of the buffer zone.” This so-called buffer zone is a large area in southern Lebanon where Israeli forces are present north of the Israeli border.

The official described the move as “an important sign of loyalty to the legitimate government of Lebanon.”

“I [Lebanese Armed Forces] now they must go in and remove the terrorists’ weapons and infrastructure,” they said. “This model will be repeated throughout South Lebanon, allowing for the safe return of displaced families, the reconstruction of the south, and the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty.”

Disputes about the method of withdrawal

Israel’s top defense official has denied that there has been a retreat or withdrawal of Israeli forces, saying that Israel will not withdraw from its territory.

A Lebanese military official said the developments in recent days “show the opposite of a retreat.”

Israel has been enforcing the area against anyone who approaches, including the Lebanese army, the official said. The Israeli military said in a statement that nothing has changed in the location of the soldiers.

Israel’s self-defined territory is 10 kilometers to Lebanon from the Israeli border. Its soldiers forced Lebanese people from their homes and attacked villages, destroying buildings.

Israeli officials say the area must protect communities in northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah. It claims to have found Hezbollah weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the army will not withdraw from the area.

Negotiations to hand over Lebanese territory to the Lebanese army are for a few areas outside the buffer zone, not inside it, a senior Israeli official said.

A US State Department official said the site inspection process aims to ensure the complete destruction and verification of Hezbollah’s weapons and infrastructure as well as the disbandment of non-state armed groups.

A second Lebanese military official said the talks in Washington focused on how the surveillance system would be used but that conflicts had emerged.

The Lebanese government wants the test system to be used in Israel’s protected area, while Israel wants to start by withdrawing from the northern areas of that area, said the official.

Israel has insisted on negotiating separately for each area it can offer without setting a timeline, while Lebanon wants to see a road to a full withdrawal from Israel, the official said.

An Israeli military official told Reuters on Wednesday that the army had not received orders to hand over any position to the Lebanese army and that, at this time, they would not allow Lebanese soldiers or civilians to cross into the protected area.

“We will not allow the Lebanese army to go south from the security forces,” the official said.