An Israeli military official said on Thursday a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon after a vehicle had overturned. The official described the incident as an accident, Reuters said. Earlier, the military said a soldier had died during "operational activity". The pace of violence in Lebanon has eased recently, but Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stressed that his forces would remain in southern Lebanon. “We have stated that, in any case, we will not withdraw, and up to this moment — and this is a diplomatic achievement — there has been no US request for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon,” Katz said in an interview during a conference of local leaders in Tel Aviv. Israel and Lebanon are currently holding US-mediated talks in Washington aimed at reaching a diplomatic solution to the conflict, including the disarmament of Hezbollah and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Since April, Lebanon has engaged in direct talks with Israel under US pressure, with the aim of ending the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel. Lebanese authorities have stressed their determination to keep Lebanon’s file separate from negotiations involving Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer. On Wednesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed that “the negotiations in Washington are separate from the meetings held in Switzerland last week between the United States and Iran, which were followed by Qatar and Pakistan.”
