JERUSALEM, June 4 (Xinhua) -- An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) armoured officer was killed on Thursday in southern Lebanon by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah, the IDF said in a statement.
Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that the officer was killed after a Hezbollah militant fired the drone at a tank of Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon, north of the Litani River.
The latest incident brings the death toll among Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon to four in recent days, following Hezbollah drone strikes.
Earlier in the day, Lebanon's National News Agency reported that at least nine people were killed and dozens of others injured in Israeli strikes targeting southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country.
Also on Thursday, Lebanese sources said that the Israeli military completed its withdrawal from the southern Lebanese town of Dibbine and redeployed to nearby Khiam. Units of the Lebanese army subsequently entered Dibbine and began clearing roads.
The developments came despite Israel and Lebanon agreeing on Wednesday to implement a ceasefire following trilateral negotiations in Washington. ■
