The fifth round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon opened on Tuesday in Washington, with the talks centered on creating "pilot areas" where Israeli forces would withdraw in order for the Lebanese army to prove its ability to disarm Hezbollah.
Just before the talks began, Hezbollah claimed that the IDF "violated" the ceasefire, saying that soldiers opened fire with "automatic weapons towards a group of civilians" near Nabatiya at approximately 11:30 a.m.
It called the alleged incident "treacherous" and claimed that two civilians were killed, and two more were injured.
This "constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire, which the resistance [Hezbollah's term for itself] has been careful to uphold until now," the terror group stated.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanese media reported that negotiators were discussing returning the remains of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad in exchange for Lebanese prisoners.
Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post that they were unaware of this development and had no new information on Ron Arad, but that they would be pleased to hear if Lebanese officials had new intel.
Lebanon President Joseph Aoun said that his government would "accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon."
"We are heading into a new round that we hope will be decisive on the path to accomplishing what we want for the good of our country and people, and this good we see in restoring Lebanon's full sovereignty over every inch of soil and extending the state's authority over all our land," he said during a Lebanese government cabinet meeting.
IDF strikes Hezbollah terrorists targeting soldiers in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah's statement follows the IDF striking an armed Hezbollah cell operating near soldiers in the Ali Taher Ridge area of southern Lebanon, in the Security Zone.
The military confirmed the strike earlier on Tuesday.
Another strike reportedly happened on Tuesday, according to Lebanese media, with a drone attacking a parked vehicle between the villages of Beit Yahoun and Baraashit in southern Lebanon.
The IDF did not issue a comment on this strike.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.