Israel says Hezbollah launched rockets, testing U.S.-mediated deal

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM - The Israeli military said it had intercepted two rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel on Wednesday, while Lebanese security sources said an Israeli strike hit a car near Beirut, testing a U.S.-mediated deal that aims to get the sides to curb attacks.

Hostilities have continued despite the agreement announced on Monday that led Israel to step back from attacking the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, and the Iran-backed group to halt cross-border strikes.

Lebanon has emerged as a focal point of the regional crisis this week, with the risk of further escalation looming over efforts to seal a deal between Iran and the United States. Tehran insists Israel halt Lebanon attacks under any agreement.

An Israeli military spokesperson said two projectiles fired from Lebanon "were rockets, launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization". Earlier, the Israeli military said it had intercepted a hostile aircraft that crossed into Israel, which a spokesperson said was likely a drone fired by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah declined to comment on the incidents and referred Reuters to the group's official announcements on its operations.

It has not announced firing rockets into northern Israel since Monday.

DRONE STRIKES

Lebanese security sources said Israeli drone strikes hit at least 10 vehicles on Wednesday, including one that hit a car on the main coastal highway in the Khalde area, several km (miles) south of Beirut, wounding two people.

It marked the closest attack to Beirut since U.S. President Donald Trump asked Israel not to hit the Lebanese capital, under the agreement announced by him and the Lebanese embassy in Washington.

Another Israeli strike, on the road near the coastal city of Tyre, killed six people, the Lebanese health ministry said, identifying them as four Syrians and two Palestinians.

An Israeli strike on an ambulance killed two medics in the town of Chehour, the health ministry said.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli airstrike killed a soldier as he travelled on a road in the south.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military to Reuters' questions about the strikes.

AVERTING FURTHER ESCALATION

Trump's diplomatic moves on Monday aimed to avert further escalation of the war that has raged since March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in solidarity with Iran, which was under U.S.-Israeli attack.

Iran has demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of any agreement with the U.S. to end the wider war, and has suggested in recent days that it could intervene directly in support of Hezbollah if Israel keeps up or escalates attacks in Lebanon.

Iran's military on Monday warned residents of northern Israel they should flee if Israel attacked Beirut.

Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, early in the war but has carried out only two strikes there since Trump declared a Lebanon ceasefire in April.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israel would strike the southern suburbs if northern Israel was attacked.

Hezbollah said it had carried out 13 operations against Israeli forces on Tuesday in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops are occupying a self-declared security zone.

The Israeli military issued new warnings to residents of six villages and towns in southern Lebanon, telling them to leave their homes because it intended to act against Hezbollah.

Nearly 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since March 2, including a total of 705 women, children and medics, Lebanon's health ministry says. The health ministry toll does not say how many combatants are among the dead.

Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since March.

Lebanese and Israeli government representatives are due to meet in Washington later on Wednesday for a second consecutive day of talks, their fourth face-to-face encounter facilitated by the United States since the war began.

The Lebanese government is attending despite Hezbollah objections.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Ahmed Elimam in Dubai, Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem; Maya Gebeily in Beirut; Writing by Tom PerryEditing by Gareth Jones)

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