Destroyed buildings and cars in southern Lebanon are seen from northern Israel. AP
An Israeli aircraft struck the outskirts of the towns of Deir Seryan and Taybeh in the Nabatieh district, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The latest strike came a day after Israeli air raids on the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa killed one person and wounded two others, according to Lebanese authorities. The attack marked the first reported Israeli strike since a framework agreement was signed approximately 24 hours earlier.
The agreement, reached in Washington after five rounds of negotiations between the two countries, stipulates a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, beginning with two pilot areas that were not publicly identified.
While the deal sets no timetable for the occupation forces' withdrawal, it links the process to the Lebanese Army assuming full security responsibility in southern Lebanon and the disarmament of all resistance armed groups, with particular reference to Hezbollah.
Israeli officials, however, have stressed that the agreement with Lebanon does not provide for an immediate withdrawal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli occupation troops would remain inside what Israel calls a "security belt" in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and Israel no longer faces threats from Lebanese territory.
The agreement has drawn criticism inside Lebanon.
While some government officials described it as an important first step toward restoring sovereignty and enabling displaced residents to return home, Hezbollah rejected the deal, calling it "non-existent" and "humiliating," and said conditioning an Israeli withdrawal on the group's disarmament crossed "red lines." The criticism coincided with protests in Beirut, where demonstrators blocked roads and burned tires, according to Al Jazeera.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the head of the Amal Shia movement who acts as mediator between the government and Hezbollah, appealed for calm as political tensions mounted over the deal, urging Lebanese factions not to be drawn into internal strife.
Berri described the agreement as "booby-trapped" and demanded an "unconditional ceasefire by land, sea, and air."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed hope that the United States would help ensure compliance with the agreement, stressing the need to secure "the fulfillment of all commitments, particularly pressure on Israel to withdraw from the territories it occupies in southern Lebanon," to facilitate the deployment of the Lebanese Army to the international border.
Aoun made the remarks during a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Saturday night following the signing ceremony.
Trump, for his part, reiterated US support for Lebanon and pledged to work toward implementing the agreement's provisions to help restore security and stability.
Since Israel reignited its war on Lebanon on 2 March, its forces have killed at least 4,246 people, wounded 12,190, and displaced more than one million, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
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