World·UpdatedIsraeli 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.Israeli military says it fired warning shots at 4 people who crossed into areas under its controlThomson Reuters · Posted: Jun 23, 2026 9:26 AM EDT | Last Updated: 26 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.A Lebanese child sweeps the debris from the sidewalk from apartments brought down in earlier Israeli military strikes on a neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on Tuesday. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)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 Lebanon 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.The shooting marked the first fatalities since Sunday. Displaced people make their way back to their homes in southern Lebanon following an interim deal between the U.S. and Iran, in Sidon on Tuesday. (Aziz Taher/Reuters)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."Iran, U.S. officials depart for talks as Israeli strikes put truce, Hormuz status in doubtAfter the group of people continued to approach, "additional fire was conducted in order to remove the threat."In what it described as 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 accuses Israel of violating ceasefireHezbollah, 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.Vehicles drive past billboards in Beirut on Monday showing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and his late father Ali Khamenei, with the slogan 'Thank you to loyal Iran,' erected along the highway leading to Rafic Hariri International Airport. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)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 Lebanese President Joseph 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 saysNabatieh 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 told Reuters by phone.WATCH | Escalation of deadly attacks in Lebanon last week:Israeli strikes kill 18 in Lebanon, U.S.-Iran talks postponedJune 19|Duration 4:25Lebanese authorities said 18 people were killed in airstrikes and Israel said four of its soldiers were killed in one of Hezbollah's deadliest attacks of the war. The escalation has complicated talks between U.S. and Iran, scheduled for Friday in Switzerland but now postponed.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 per cent to 70 per cent 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 health-care workers, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. They have also forced some 1.2 million people from their homes in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.Vance says talks with Iranian officials set 'good foundation' for a deal to end warIsrael, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire, according to regional sourcesIsrael's death toll from this round of hostilities with Hezbollah includes at least 32 soldiers and four Israeli civilians.At Iran's insistence, the interim deal signed with the United States last week requires Washington, Tehran, and their allies to declare an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.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."