Under a truce that ended a current struggle between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there.
The deaths come as Lebanon tackles the thorny concern of disarming Hezbollah, with the Cabinet this week tasking the Army with growing a plan to take action by yr finish and the Iran-backed group pushing again.
Iran stated Saturday (August 9, 2025) it opposed the Lebanese authorities’s determination.
An Army assertion gave a preliminary toll of six troopers killed and others wounded “whereas an Army unit was inspecting a weapons depot and dismantling its contents in Wadi Zibqin”, within the Tyre district close to the Israeli border.
Investigations have been underway to find out the reason for the blast, it added.
A army supply, requesting anonymity as they weren’t authorised to transient the media, informed AFP the blast passed off “inside a Hezbollah army facility”.
Troops have been “eradicating munitions and unexploded ordnance left over from the current struggle” between Israel and Hezbollah when the blast occurred, the supply added.
President Joseph Aoun stated he was knowledgeable by Army commander Rodolphe Haykal of the “painful incident” that led to troop casualties.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam paid tribute on X to the troops who have been killed “whereas performing their nationwide responsibility”, calling the Army the protector of Lebanon’s “unity and its authentic establishments”.
Disarmament push
The blast got here days after Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon, stated that troops had “found an unlimited community of fortified tunnels” in the identical space.
Under the November ceasefire which sought to finish greater than a yr of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, weapons in Lebanon ought to be restricted to state establishments.
The authorities has tasked the Army with presenting a plan for proscribing weapons to authorities forces by the tip of August.
Lebanon’s Cabinet met twice this week on the problem, whereas Hezbollah has rejected the federal government’s determination to remove its weapons.
A senior adviser to supreme chief Ayatollah Khamenei stated Saturday (August 9, 2025) that Iran “is actually against the disarmament of Hezbollah… Iran has at all times supported the individuals and the resistance of Lebanon and continues to take action.”
Lebanon’s Cabinet on Thursday (August 7, 2025) mentioned a U.S. proposal that features a timetable for Hezbollah’s disarmament, with Washington urgent Beirut to take motion.
The authorities endorsed the introduction of the U.S. textual content with out discussing particular timelines, and referred to as for the deployment of Lebanese troops in border areas.
It additionally referred to as for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from 5 south Lebanon areas they’ve occupied for the reason that current struggle.
In April, Lebanon’s army stated three troops have been killed in a munitions blast within the south, simply days after a soldier was killed and three others wounded in one other explosion as authorities stated that they had been dismantling mines in a tunnel.
Published – August 09, 2025 08:07 pm IST
