Lebanon reports Israeli strikes near Tyre, four wounded

Lebanon's official National News Agency said Israeli airstrikes and shelling hit Tyre district from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, reporting four people wounded in Burj al-Shamali as renewed hostilities continued during US-mediated talks in Rome.

The agency said there were four strikes in Burj al-Shamali. It also reported three strikes in and around Mansouri, where it said artillery shelling and tank fire targeted the town at the same time. Israel's military had warned Mansouri residents on Wednesday to evacuate.

Lebanon's health ministry reported at least one person killed in Wednesday's strikes. Earlier Lebanese state media had reported one killed and 11 wounded in a separate Israeli strike.

Israel's military said on Wednesday it had resumed “precise strikes” in southern Lebanon after what it called a Hezbollah ceasefire violation. It later announced that two reservists were killed on Wednesday, its first soldier deaths in Lebanon since June 28.

Israel and Lebanon were taking part in US-backed talks in Rome aimed at ending the fighting. A person involved in the negotiations told AFP that Israel asked for Wednesday's proceedings to end early, but the talks were expected to resume Thursday.

In earlier talks in June, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a framework deal involving Hezbollah's disarmament, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in pilot zones.

Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the talks and refuses to surrender its weapons. Its leader, Naim Qassem, said Tuesday that direct negotiations would bring Lebanon “nothing but shame, humiliation” and concessions.

Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2 in support of Iran, drawing Lebanon into the wider Middle East war. Violence had decreased since the Lebanon-Israel deal and a preliminary US-Iran agreement, though intermittent Israeli strikes and shelling continued.

Israel's military says it has lost 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor since the fighting in Lebanon began.