US blocks wider Israeli attack on Hezbollah after deadly Lebanon blast, saving peace talks - report

ByAMIR BOHBOT, JERUSALEM POST STAFFAUGUST 6, 2026 14:06The United States intervened to limit Israel's response to a deadly incident in southern Lebanon in which two IDF reservists were killed in an explosion near Majdal Zoun, Lebanese outlet Nidaa Al-Watan reported on Thursday.Citing Lebanese political and official sources, the outlet reported that Washington moved to contain a potential escalation between Israel and Hezbollah that could have derailed ceasefire negotiations in Rome.According to the report, Israel sought to launch a wider attack on Hezbollah following the Majdal Zoun incident, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon, but the proposed response was blocked by the United States.The "decisive" American intervention "saved the third day of negotiations in Rome," the Nidaa Al-Watan report added.IDF Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock and Master-Sgt. (res.) Tamir Vaknin were killed, and four other soldiers were seriously wounded, during an operation in the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun, an area that had not yet been inspected by the IDF and is not included in the pilot zones established under the trilateral agreement between Israel, the United States, and Lebanon.The troops were killed after entering a booby-trapped building, where an explosive device detonated upon their entry, causing part of the structure to collapse.Representations of the Israeli and Lebanese flags at a memorial near the Israel-Lebanon border, after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement following US-mediated talks, as the town of Metula, Israel, appears in the distance, June 27, 2026; illustrative. (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)Katz questions IDF tactics after deadly Hezbollah booby-trap kills two soldiers in LebanonSeparately, Walla reported on Thursday that upon learning of the deadly incident in southern Lebanon, Defense Minister Israel Katz questioned why soldiers entered the booby-trapped building.Katz asked why troops had entered the structure and requested that operational directives be reinforced in line with his policy, emphasizing the destruction of terrorist infrastructure rather than entering such buildings.Northern Command is continuing to investigate the incident, in which combat forces from the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade entered the booby-trapped building.The investigation is examining why Israeli forces entered the structure and whether it carried out the required clearance procedures for terrorists and explosive devices, including the use of an Oketz canine unit, a ground robot, a drone, a thermobaric charge inside the building, or tank shell fire.IDF concerned Hezbollah may attempt to booby-trap more buildingsDuring the height of the guerrilla fighting in Gaza, Hamas planted rear-view and street cameras inside selected buildings, monitored IDF troop movements from command centers, and detonated explosive devices once soldiers entered in order to collapse the structures on top of them.The IDF is now concerned that Hezbollah may attempt to booby-trap additional buildings in villages under Israeli operational control in southern Lebanon as part of efforts to derail negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, which the military believes run counter to the strategic interests of Hezbollah and Iran.IDF soldiers have located and dismantled thousands of Hezbollah infrastructure sites during months of operations in southern Lebanon, the military said on Thursday.The sites included command posts, operational and observation positions, launch sites, underground infrastructure, and large quantities of weapons, according to the IDF.The military said Hezbollah had spent years entrenching itself in villages across southern Lebanon, embedding military infrastructure within civilian areas and turning them into bases for its operations. It accused the terrorist group of exploiting the local population and endangering Lebanese civilians.The announcement came as the IDF carried out strikes near Mansouri in southern Lebanon, targeting what it said were Hezbollah weapons-storage facilities and command centers in response to the deaths of the two reservists.Follow us on Google