Six Lebanese soldiers were killed on Saturday as they were inspecting a weapons depot belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in the southern city of Tyre, the army said.

The depot was reportedly part of Hezbollah's military infrastructure, which the Lebanese army has been dismantling in cooperation with a United Nations team as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

What do we know about the blast?

A statement from Lebanon's army said the soldiers were killed "while an army unit was inspecting a weapons depot and dismantling its contents in Wadi Zibqin," in the Tyre district near the Israeli border.

Investigations were underway to determine the cause of the blast, it added.

A military source, requesting anonymity, told the AFP news agency the blast took place "inside a Hezbollah military facility."

Troops were "removing munitions and unexploded ordnance left over from the recent war" between Israel and Hezbollah when the blast occurred, the source added.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the explosion as a "painful incident," while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam paid tribute on X to the troops who were killed "while performing their national duty."

Lebanon bears brunt of regional turmoil

Lebanon has been caught in the middle of a side conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which sparked the Gaza war. 

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged regular fire and attacks across the shared Lebanon-Israeli border for several months.

Hezbollah suffered major losses with over 5,000 fighters killed, along with senior commanders, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasrallah was assassinated last September in an Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah's headquarters in a suburb of Beirut.

The smaller conflict was ended by a US-brokered ceasefire in November, under which Lebanon agreed to confiscate all "unauthorized" weapons in the country.

In return, Israel said it would stop offensive operations against Lebanese targets.

Hezbollah, Iran push back against disarmament 

The Lebanese government met this week to order the army to develop a plan to disarm Hezbollah before the end of the year.

The Iran-backed group has pushed back against the move. Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s current leader, has rejected calls to disarm, calling them "US dictates" and a threat to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Hezbollah plays a special role in Lebanon as both a major political party and a heavily armed group that's stronger than the national army. This gives it huge influence over the country's government and security.

Iran supports Hezbollah financially and militarily, along with Hamas and Yemen's Houthis, to expand its regional power and as a counterweight to Israel and the US in the Middle East.

An adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said Saturday that Tehran is opposed to Hezbollah's disarmament, according to Iran's pro-government Tasnim news agency. 

Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Israel and several other countries, whereas the EU only recognizes Hezbollah's armed wing as a a terrorist group.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery