https://arab.news/vdnb4
- Hezbollah condemned the Israeli attack and praised President Aoun’s order to the army
DUBAI/BEIRUT: An Israeli military raid in southern Lebanon early Thursday killed a municipal employee in the border town of Blida, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to order the army to confront such incursions.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli forces, backed by armored vehicles and ATVs, crossed more than a kilometer into Lebanese territory and stormed the Blida municipality building around 1:30 a.m., where employee Ibrahim Salameh was sleeping. He was killed inside the premises.
Residents told local media they heard screams and cries for help during the several-hour raid, which ended around dawn before Israeli troops withdrew. An AFP journalist later saw bullet holes in the building’s walls and windows, with bloodstains and personal belongings scattered in the room where Salameh had been sleeping.
President Aoun instructed the military to “confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory” during a meeting with the army chief, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the raid as a “flagrant aggression against Lebanese state institutions and sovereignty.”
The Israeli military confirmed the operation, saying its forces were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in the Blida area and had fired on a “suspect” after identifying an “immediate threat.” The military said the incident was under review and accused Hezbollah of using the municipal building “for terrorist activity under the guise of civilian infrastructure.”
Hezbollah condemned what it called a “new Israeli crime,” saying the “Zionist enemy continues its series of crimes on Lebanese territory” and had “cold-bloodedly executed” Salameh while he slept. The group accused the United States of complicity in Israeli aggression, saying Washington had given “the green light to every Israeli escalation.”
The statement called on the Lebanese government to adopt a “unified and firm national stance” against continued Israeli attacks and praised President Aoun’s order to the army. Hezbollah urged the state to strengthen the military’s defensive capabilities and provide political cover to confront “this brutal enemy.”
In a separate strike early Thursday, Israeli forces also blew up a hall for religious ceremonies in the nearby border village of Adaisseh, Lebanon’s NNA reported.
Despite a ceasefire agreed with Hezbollah in November 2024, Israel maintains troops in several parts of southern Lebanon and continues to carry out regular air strikes, saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions. The UN says more than 100 civilians have been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire came into effect.
(With AFP)