Israeli raid kills municipal worker in southern town of Blida
Israeli troops killed a Lebanese municipal worker on Thursday during a raid on a border village in the south, state media reported.
The incident in the town of Blida sparked condemnation by Lebanese officials and a protest by residents.
The Israeli army said in a statement that the soldiers had entered to “destroy terrorist infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah and “identified a suspect” inside the building who they attempted to apprehend.
It said they had fired to “neutralize a threat” and that the details of the incident were under investigation. It also accused Hezbollah of using the building "for terrorist activity under the guise of civilian infrastructure."
Despite a November 2024 ceasefire, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes, which have recently intensified.
However, raids by ground forces like the one in Blida are rare.
"In a grave and unprecedented attack, an Israeli enemy force penetrated the village of Blida at nearly 1:30 am, more than one kilometer from the border, supported by a number of vehicles," Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
"The force stormed the Blida municipality building, where employee Ibrahim Salameh was sleeping, and enemy soldiers proceeded to kill him," it said.
Village residents cited by NNA said the raid lasted several hours, and that Israeli forces withdrew at dawn.
The state-run National News Agency reported that the Israeli forces had entered the village around 1:30 a.m. and stormed the municipality building, where Salameh was sleeping.
Salameh “usually slept in the municipality,” said Tahsin Kaour, a local official. “He heard a noise outside suddenly and went to the window to see what was going on, and they shot him.”
Lebanese officials say Israel’s strikes often harm civilians and destroy infrastructure unrelated to Hezbollah and have called for Israeli forces to withdraw.
Residents in Blida expressed anger toward the Lebanese Army and the United Nations peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, who they said were failing to protect civilians. Residents confronted UNIFIL peacekeepers who arrived in the village Thursday morning and asked them to leave.
“We want the government to protect us, to protect the people, for the Lebanese Army to protect us,” Kaour said.
In the nearby border village of Adaisseh, NNA reported that Israeli forces blew up a hall for religious ceremonies at dawn.
An AFP journalist saw bullet holes in the walls and windows of the municipal building in Blida.
In the room where Salameh had been sleeping, the floor, blankets and mattress were stained with blood, with the victim's glasses, papers and cigarettes scattered around.
Salameh had been sleeping in the building because he was on duty, said the mayor of Blida, where most houses were destroyed during last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah.
"We heard Israeli soldiers shout, then there were gunshots," Hisham Abdel Latif Hassan, Salameh's nephew, told AFP.
After Israeli soldiers withdrew, "we found him dead near his mattress".
Over the past days, Israel has stepped up its strikes on Lebanon, often saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions.
On Tuesday, the spokesman for the U.N. rights commission, Jeremy Laurence, said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect.
Hezbollah was badly weakened during more than a year of conflict with Israel, and the United States has intensified pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the group.
On Wednesday, during a meeting of the ceasefire's monitors in the Lebanese border city of Naqoura, U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus said Washington welcomed the "decision to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year".
The Lebanese army "must now fully implement its plan", she added.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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