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Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Tuesday demanded a scheduled Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, as Lebanese authorities said Israeli gunfire killed two people in the area despite a recent lull in fighting.
The demand came as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejected Israel's occupation of the south and foreign interference in Lebanon's affairs, and as a fifth round of Israel-Lebanon talks began in Washington.
Qassem said Israel must fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory and that the Lebanese army should deploy exclusively south of the Litani River, a waterway about 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) from the Israeli border.
"We now have a ceasefire. The withdrawal must take place according to a timetable. Israel has no choice but to fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory, without retaining an inch," Qassem said in a televised address.
Qassem said Israeli forces must leave Lebanon and the Lebanese army should take control south of the Litani River.
"Israel withdraws and the Lebanese army deploys exclusively south of the Litani River," he said.
His remarks followed deadly clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday and Saturday that rattled a fledgling U.S.-Iran deal, which provides for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.
The fighting in Lebanon has largely paused since Saturday evening.
On Monday, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said Tehran and Washington had agreed to set up a "de-confliction cell" to limit flare-ups in Lebanon following talks in Switzerland on ending the wider Middle East war, which Tehran has linked to halting the parallel conflict in Lebanon.
Lebanon's National News Agency said two men were killed Tuesday when Israeli soldiers opened fire with machine guns "while they were standing near an excavator that was unblocking a road" in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
Lebanon's Health Ministry later confirmed the death toll.
Hezbollah condemned the incident as a "blatant" Israeli truce violation and a "treacherous attack."
Israel's military said soldiers fired warning shots at four alleged Hezbollah militants on a bulldozer and a motorcycle who entered an Israeli-declared "security zone" running about 10 kilometers deep inside Lebanon.
It said, "additional fire was conducted in order to remove the threat."
Separately, the Israeli military said its forces also struck "a cell of armed terrorists operating" near soldiers in the zone.
The National News Agency also reported that "an enemy drone targeted a parked car" on the outskirts of the town of Baraasheet.
It said another drone targeted a car elsewhere in south Lebanon "without hitting the vehicle."
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said earlier Tuesday that it had not observed any launches, strikes or interceptions "since Sunday, marking more than two days without such activity."
Lebanese officials began direct talks with Israel in Washington in April under U.S. pressure, while Lebanese authorities have sought to separate the negotiations from the U.S.-Iran deal.
"We accept nothing less than an end to the Israeli occupation and at the same time, the fall of foreign tutelage," Aoun said, according to his office.
The Lebanese president has previously accused Iran of using Lebanon as a "bargaining chip."
Aoun said the Washington talks "aim to lay solid ground for a clear programme that leads to the full realisation of Lebanon's demands, which would pave the way for achieving a real and lasting peace," according to his office.
He also expressed hope that the current round would be "decisive" in helping obtain "the full restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty."
Aoun's office said he spoke by telephone with French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed the situation "in light of the results of the U.S.-Iran negotiations."
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who acts as an intermediary for the group, also spoke to Macron, his office said.
Berri emphasized "the importance of consolidating the ceasefire" and Israel's withdrawal.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground offensive that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,100 people.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces in Lebanon retained "full freedom of action to thwart any direct or developing threat."
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