Israel says Hezbollah drone breached Lebanon truce

The Israeli military accused Hezbollah on Wednesday of violating a ceasefire in Lebanon by launching an explosive drone toward an Israeli army engineering vehicle in southern Lebanon.

The military said the drone was launched overnight toward the vehicle in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area, inside a strip of territory where Israeli forces are operating about 10 kilometres deep along Lebanon's border with Israel. It said no Israeli soldiers were injured.

Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, visited soldiers deployed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. According to a military statement, he said the army would not withdraw from the security zone until long-term security was ensured and that, if required, it would deepen operations and reach additional areas.

The military said its troops continued to operate in the ridge area and would not allow militants there to advance or carry out attacks against Israeli soldiers.

Under a US-sponsored agreement signed last month, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from pilot zones where Lebanese forces will then deploy.

The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in support of Tehran on March 2, triggering major Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Violence has declined since a preliminary US-Iran deal and the Lebanon-Israel agreement last month, but Lebanon continues to report intermittent Israeli strikes and artillery shelling in the south. Lebanon's army on Sunday condemned ongoing Israeli military activities that it said were preventing its full deployment under the framework deal.

Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks since June 20.