BEIRUT, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and 11 others were wounded on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a prayer hall in the southern Lebanese town of Tebnine in the Bint Jbeil district, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
The agency confirmed that the casualties resulted from an Israeli airstrike, rejecting an earlier report that attributed the incident to the explosion of unexploded ordnance.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it launched new strikes in southern Lebanon, citing an alleged ceasefire violation by Hezbollah. It did not elaborate on the alleged violation.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army issued an urgent evacuation warning to residents of Mansouri, a town in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon, urging them to leave the area immediately.
The strikes followed Lebanese media reports that Israeli soldiers had been injured earlier on Wednesday.
No immediate comment was issued by Lebanese authorities or Hezbollah.
The tensions came a day after Israeli and Lebanese officials began three days of negotiations in Rome aimed at advancing security arrangements along their border and implementing a framework agreement reached in Washington in late June, according to local media. The talks, opposed by Hezbollah, are the seventh round of negotiations between the two governments. ■
