The US is reportedly restraining Israel and barring the IDF from major strikes on Hezbollah after two soldiers were killed in a blast in southern Lebanon.By World Israel News StaffThe US intervened to limit the scale of Israel’s military response after two IDF reservists were killed in southern Lebanon, preventing the escalation from derailing US-mediated negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in Rome, according to a Lebanese report published Thursday.Lebanon’s Nidaa al-Watan newspaper said Washington acted urgently following Wednesday’s explosion in Majdal Zoun and succeeded in confining Israel’s response to a relatively limited series of strikes. The intervention reportedly prevented the violence from destroying progress made during the first two days of negotiations and allowed the third and final day of the Rome talks to proceed.A Lebanese source said the government in Beirut had also conducted diplomatic and security contacts aimed at containing the situation, but claimed Hezbollah did not cooperate with those efforts. Israel, meanwhile, insisted that it would continue striking threats in southern Lebanon.“All options are open, and therefore the state is trying to take all necessary measures to stop the escalation and return to negotiations,” the source said, citing US pressure to resolve the crisis peacefully and avoid losing the diplomatic opportunity.Maj. Harel Bierenstock, a company commander, and Master Sgt. Tamir Vaknin, a combat medic, were killed when a booby-trapped building exploded as reservists from the 55th Paratroopers Brigade entered it during operations in Majdal Zoun. Four other soldiers were seriously wounded.An initial IDF investigation found that the force had been securing engineering work in the village when soldiers entered the building. The military has not yet determined whether the explosive device was planted recently or had remained there from an earlier stage of the fighting, although the preliminary assessment was that it may have been an older charge. Investigators are also examining whether the soldiers followed the required procedures before entering the structure.The IDF initially described the explosion as “a blatant ceasefire violation” by Hezbollah and announced retaliatory attacks across southern Lebanon. Hezbollah did not immediately claim responsibility or issue a public statement about the blast.Defense Minister Israel Katz’s statement Thursday mourning the soldiers did not blame Hezbollah or characterize the incident as a new violation, potentially reflecting Israel’s effort to avoid a wider escalation while the precise circumstances of the explosion remained under investigation.“Harel and Tamir left behind families and entire lives and reported each time for reserve duty with commitment, dedication and a profound sense of mission,” Katz said. He wished the four wounded soldiers “a swift and complete recovery.”Following the explosion, Israel issued an evacuation warning for residents of Mansouri, the first such public warning in Lebanon in more than a month, before carrying out airstrikes and artillery fire in several areas of the south.Lebanon’s Health Ministry said one person was killed and 12 others were wounded in an Israeli strike on Tibnin. The Lebanese state news agency also reported attacks around Burj al-Shemali, Mansouri and Majdal Zoun, while Nidaa al-Watan said approximately 15 families left Mansouri following the Israeli warning.Wednesday’s negotiating session ended early as the violence unfolded, but the talks were scheduled to resume Thursday. The reported US intervention was intended to prevent the field escalation from collapsing the negotiating process altogether.The flare-up marked the first deaths of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon since late June. The two soldiers were killed despite a fragile security arrangement reached by Israel and Lebanon on June 26 under US mediation.Under the framework, Israel is expected to gradually withdraw from areas it holds in southern Lebanon as the Lebanese army assumes security control and prevents Hezbollah from rebuilding its military presence. The sides remain divided over the sequence and verification of those steps, particularly whether additional Israeli withdrawals should precede further action against Hezbollah’s weapons and infrastructure.The Rome discussions have focused on expanding so-called pilot zones in which the Lebanese army would take full responsibility for security following an Israeli withdrawal.Lebanon has reportedly requested that a future pilot zone be established in Khiam or Bint Jbeil, both of which experienced heavy fighting and remain under Israeli control. An earlier arrangement allowed the Lebanese army to deploy in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, although Lebanese officials have argued that the move represented only a limited test because Israeli troops had not fully occupied the town.US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa cautioned before the talks against attempting a rapid expansion of the pilot program.“Moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect,” Issa said.According to Lebanese reporting, negotiators have made progress on unresolved border questions and on establishing a verification mechanism to ensure that Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure are removed from areas transferred to Lebanese army control.The sides have also discussed appointing a third party to monitor implementation. Italy has been mentioned as a possible participant in the verification process, although no final agreement has been announced.The Lebanese delegation is also seeking to place the issue of Lebanese detainees held by Israel on the agenda and has requested an Israeli response concerning measures to strengthen the ceasefire. The question of expanding the pilot zones remained unresolved as the third day of talks began.As the Rome negotiations continued, the IDF released material it said documented thousands of Hezbollah facilities located inside civilian villages in southern Lebanon.The military said its forces had uncovered command centers, launch positions, observation posts, underground installations, operational positions and weapons embedded in populated areas.The post US forcing Israel to limit response to deadly Hezbollah blast in Lebanon – report appeared first on World Israel News.