Lebanese president orders army to 'confront any Israeli incursion' after raid kills worker

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday ordered the armed forces to oppose any Israeli incursions in the country’s south following an Israeli raid that killed a municipal worker.

Aoun ordered the army to “confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defence of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens”, during a meeting with the army chief, according to a statement from the presidency.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes, which have recently intensified.

“In a grave and unprecedented attack, an Israeli enemy force penetrated the village of Blida at nearly 1:30am (1130 GMT), more than one kilometre 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.

In the nearby border village of Adaisseh, NNA reported that Israeli forces blew up a hall for religious ceremonies at dawn.

Stepped-up Israeli strikes

Over the past few days, Israel has stepped up its strikes on Lebanon, often saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for the UN 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 Iran-backed group.

Read moreOne year after Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, a weakened Hezbollah begins to regroup

On Wednesday, during a meeting of the ceasefire’s monitors in the Lebanese border city of Naqoura, US 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.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)