India, Aug. 6 -- The Israeli military said on Thursday, two of its soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon in the first Israeli deaths since the implementation of a shaky truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in June.

Four other soldiers were wounded, the military said. The deaths had been reported by Israeli media a day earlier.

The Israeli army launched strikes on Wednesday in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire and issued a call for residents of the village of Mansouri to flee - the first such warning Israel has issued in Lebanon for weeks.

There was no immediate statement from Hezbollah.

The escalation came as Lebanese and Israe...