Israel army accuses Hezbollah of truce violation, launching drone in south Lebanon

<p> JERUSALEM: The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of a “blatant violation of the ceasefire” in Lebanon on Wednesday, saying the Iran-backed militant group had fired a drone at an Israeli vehicle there.<br /> The army said the incident took place in a strip of territory where Israeli forces are operating that runs around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside southern Lebanon along its border with Israel.<br /> “Overnight (Wednesday), Hezbollah launched an explosive drone toward an IDF engineering vehicle in the area of Ali Al-Taher Ridge within the Security Zone,” the military said in a statement, calling the incident “a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”<br /> It added that no injuries were reported among Israeli soldiers.<br /> The military said its troops “continue to operate in the ridge area and will not allow terrorists in the area to advance or execute attacks against IDF soldiers.”<br /> 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 subsequently deploy.<br /> 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.<br /> While violence has declined since the signing of a preliminary US-Iran deal last month and the Lebanon-Israel agreement, Lebanon continues to report intermittent Israeli strikes and artillery shelling on the south.<br /> Lebanon’s army on Sunday condemned ongoing Israeli military activities that it said were preventing its full deployment under the framework deal.<br /> Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks since June 20.</p>