By Nazih Osseiran, Laila Bassam and Steven Scheer
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, June 23 (Reuters) - Israeli gunfire killed two people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Lebanon's Civil Defence and health ministry said, prompting Iran-backed Hezbollah to accuse Israel of violating a ceasefire that has largely held since Sunday.
The lull in fighting is the longest yet in the war that was ignited by the U.S.-Iran conflict on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel in support of Tehran, prompting Israel's second
offensive in the country since 2024.
The highway south was clogged with cars on Tuesday as the relative calm encouraged displaced people to return home, despite concerns about the ceasefire's solidity and with Israeli forces still deployed deep inside Lebanon.
The war has loomed over diplomacy towards resolving the U.S.-Iran conflict, as Tehran has demanded Israel halt attacks in Lebanon as part of its interim deal with Washington, tying the fate of the wider negotiations to the Lebanon conflict.
LEBANON AN 'UNQUESTIONABLE PART' OF AGREEMENT: IRANIAN ENVOY
The shooting marked the first fatalities since Sunday.
Israeli soldiers opened fire at a group of people near a bulldozer clearing a road in the al-Deir neighbourhood of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, the local mayor and Lebanon's state news agency NNA said.
The Israeli military later said its troops had fired warning shots at four people on a bulldozer and motorcycle that had crossed into the zone Israeli troops are still holding in southern Lebanon. It described them as "Hezbollah terrorists operating under civilian cover".
After the group of people continued to approach, "additional fire was conducted in order to remove the threat."
In a separate incident, the Israeli military said it "struck armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat" to soldiers in the Ali al-Taher ridge area - located within the same area of the south.
Hezbollah, in a statement, said two civilians were killed in the Nabatieh al-Fawqa shooting and accused Israel of violating the ceasefire.
It did not say whether it intended to respond.
Asked about the latest incident, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, told reporters that any violation of the memorandum of understanding in Lebanon would create challenges for peace talks.
"Lebanon is an unquestionable part of the agreement, and whatever happens in Lebanon affects the whole process, and it is the United States which should use all its leverage against Israel to make it to stop attacks against Lebanon," he said.
A joint statement issued at the end of U.S.-Iranian talks in Switzerland said the parties had agreed to create "a de-confliction cell" to ensure adherence to the termination of hostilities in Lebanon.
On Tuesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Aoun in a phone call that they were committed to forming the cell to solidify the ceasefire in Lebanon, and that details of its formation and how it would operate were still under review.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that troops had full freedom of action to thwart any Hezbollah direct or emerging threat against them or Israeli citizens, and would remain in Lebanon for "as long as is necessary".
A separate Israeli drone strike on Tuesday afternoon hit a parked car in southern Lebanon, with no casualties recorded, Lebanese state media said.
'PEOPLE ARE SCARED', LOCAL OFFICIAL SAYS
Nabatieh and the nearby Ali al-Taher ridge have been the focal point of heavy fighting in recent weeks, as Israeli forces sought to advance there.
Israeli attacks have forced some 1.2 million people from their homes in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.
Zein Ghandour, the mayor of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, said residents had begun returning to check on their homes, but were being urged to stay away after Tuesday's shooting.
"People were scared," he said, speaking to Reuters by phone.
Further from the frontline, hundreds of families had returned to the southern town of Zrarieh, said local official Rida Abed al-Khalik.
"We are expecting more to come tomorrow depending on what will happen in the meetings today," he said, referring to talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli government officials.
In the nearby village of Toura, an official said 60-70% of residents had returned, though some had no homes to return to.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 4,100 people, including 773 women, children and healthcare workers, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The toll does not say how many combatants are among the dead.
Israel's death toll from this round of hostilities with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam and Nazih Osseiran in Beirut, Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Steven Scheer in Jerusalem, Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Aidan Lewis, William Maclean, Alexandra Hudson)
