Syrian farmers bombed by Israeli drone in south Lebanon after displacement orders

Israel on Sunday dropped leaflets from the sky ordering people to leave the border town of Wazzani

Syrian refugees ride a tractor near UN Interim Force vehicles as they leave Wazzani village, southern Lebanon. EPA

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Two Syrian farmers were bombed by an Israeli drone on Monday morning in a south Lebanese border town, a day after Israel asked people to leave the area.

The pair were unhurt in the attack on Wazzani, which sits directly next to the hotly contested border with Israel.

Israel had dropped leaflets on the area on Sunday, ordering people to head north of Khiam before 4pm.

“To all residents and refugees living in the area of the camps, Hezbollah is firing from your region. Do not return to this area until the end of the war. Anyone present in this area after this time will be considered a terrorist,” the flyer said.

Wazzani is an agricultural region where Syrians are often hired to work the land. It is subjected to attacks on an almost daily basis. Many Syrians living there reside in drab, limited accommodation.

Most people have been displaced from the south Lebanon border area, with about 100,000 leaving their homes.

Confusing the situation was the Israeli military's insistence that the dropping of the flyers was not approved by central command.

Asked about the incident, an Israeli military spokeswoman said the leaflets had been dropped by drone in an area from which rockets had been fired into northern Israel.

“This was an initiative of the 769 Brigade, it was not approved by the Northern Command. An investigation has been opened,” she added.

The Israeli military said dropping the leaflets was an unauthorised action by a unit that had not sought appropriate approval, and that there was no eviction under way.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft regularly drop leaflets urging residents to leave before an attack.

The cross-border violence since early October has killed 623 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including at least 141 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, including in the occupied Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.