The Lebanese military says two soldiers have been killed and two wounded as they investigated an Israeli drone crash in southern Lebanon.

The army said the downed Israeli drone exploded on Thursday during an inspection at the crash site in the Naqoura area, not far from Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun offered condolences to the soldiers who were killed and injured, stressing that the military “is paying, in blood, the price of preserving stability in the south” of the country.

The deadly incident came as Israel has been carrying out near-daily attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire reached with Hezbollah in November.

It also coincides with a United Nations Security Council vote to wind down a UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which has for decades been tasked with maintaining a buffer between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces.

The mandate for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was extended through the end of 2026, but after that, the UN will carry out an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” over the following year.

The resolution aims to make Lebanon’s military “the sole provider of security” in southern Lebanon, a goal complicated by Israel’s continued presence in the country. Both Israel and its top ally, the United States, have been pushing to end the UNIFIL mission.

“The process of withdrawing its 10,800 military and civilian personnel and equipment would start immediately in consultation with the Lebanese government, to be completed within a year,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr explained.

The US has also been pressuring Lebanon’s government to agree to a plan to disarm Hezbollah – something the Lebanese group has rejected, stressing that such a move will only reward Israel.

On a visit to Beirut on Tuesday, US envoy Tom Barrack said Lebanon had agreed to present a plan aimed at persuading Hezbollah to disarm while Israel would submit a corresponding framework for its military withdrawal from the country.

Barrack said the plan, which is expected to be presented on Sunday, will not involve military coercion but focus on efforts to encourage Hezbollah to surrender its weapons.

A day earlier, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the Lebanese government must first ensure Israel complies with the ceasefire before talks on a national defence strategy could take place.

“If you truly want sovereignty, then stop the aggression. We will not abandon the weapons that honour us nor the weapons that protect us from our enemy,” Qassem said.