Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Lebanon - Beirut accused Israeli troops of infiltrating a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon's army and building an earthen barrier overnight on Friday.
"An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight… and erected a new earthen barrier near the town square," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.
An AFP correspondent saw the barrier, built at the village's eastern entrance. The local authorities said it was unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area.
Zawtar al-Gharbiya was one of several designated "pilot zones" where the Lebanese army took over as part of a US-sponsored framework agreement signed with Israel in the wake of the latter's repeated attacks in the country's south.
Israel began its brutal assault on Lebanon in the aftermath of its decision to join the US' war of aggression against Iran. It launched a widespread bombing campaign and ground invasion, devastating local infrastructure.
Israeli forces have killed more than 4300 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
Under the June agreement, Lebanon is meant to disarm Hezbollah while Israel is supposed to gradually withdraw its forces from the country's south. Beirut said it is looking to ultimately achieve a "complete Israeli withdrawal."
Beirut's army deployed to Zawtar al-Gharbiya on July 21, and around 50 families have since returned to the village, mayor Abed Ezzeddine told AFP. Israeli troops had been present on the outskirts of the village before the deployment.