Details emerge: Six Lebanese soldiers killed in South Lebanon explosion

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi    

The Lebanese Army suffered one of its deadliest single incidents since October 8, 2023, when six soldiers were killed and two others wounded in an explosion in South Lebanon's Wadi Zibqin, near Tyre. 

One of the injured is in critical condition, raising the army's death toll to 53 since the start of the ongoing conflict.

According to the military, the blast occurred while an army unit was inspecting a weapons depot and working to dismantle its contents. Army forces have been operating in the area for days, and it was not the first time they had conducted such missions in the valley, which has been used to store munitions.

Israeli airstrikes repeatedly and heavily targeted Wadi Zibqin during the war and after the cease-fire agreement. The area is known to contain Hezbollah military infrastructure. 

Since the agreement, the Lebanese Army has been working alongside UNIFIL to dismantle facilities, sites, and storage depots belonging to Hezbollah south of the Litani River, without facing significant obstacles.

In its initial statement, the army confirmed only that an explosion had occurred during an inspection and dismantling operation, adding that it is working to determine the cause of the incident.
 
This is not the first such tragedy to strike the military. In April last year, a similar explosion occurred in Wadi Aaziyyeh when a suspicious object detonated during an engineering inspection, killing one soldier and wounding three others. Months later, during the war, an army vehicle transporting munitions exploded in Braikeh near Nabatieh, also resulting in casualties.