Israel kidnaps Jamaa al Islamiya official, kills 3 in south Lebanon
by Dalal Saoud · UPIBEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- An Israeli force early Monday kidnapped an official with the "Jamaa al Islamiya," a Lebanese Sunni group and an ally of the Palestinian militant movement Hamas, while three people, including a child, were killed in separate Israeli attacks.
Israeli soldiers infiltrated the village of Hebbariyeh in southern Lebanon about 3 miles north of the Israeli border shortly after midnight and "abducted" the group's official, Atwi Atwi, from his home, according to a statement by "Jamaa al Islamiya."
The statement said Atwi was taken to "an unknown location after his family was terrorized and assaulted." It condemned the kidnapping and held the Israeli occupying forces responsible for his safety.
The group said the abduction was part of a campaign to "terrorize local residents and force them to abandon their villages and land," and called for Atwi's release.
An Israeli Army spokesman confirmed that Israeli soldiers carried out an intelligence-led raid on a building inside Lebanese territory, and arrested a senior Jamaa Islamiya official, who was taken to Israel for "further questioning."
According to Israeli English-language websites, the Army spokesman said that weapons and combat equipment were seized at the site.
They also quoted Israeli security and military officials as saying the decision to capture Atwi, rather than target him in a strike, "stemmed from the significant intelligence value expected from his interrogation, including information related to Hezbollah" and to gather intelligence on the group's activities in Lebanon and Syria.
The raid, they said, was wrapped up early Monday morning, and there were no reports of clashes during the operation.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who inspected villages in southern Lebanon over the weekend, condemned Atwi's abduction as "a blatant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty" and a breach of the Nov. 27, 2024, cease-fire agreement brokered by the United States and France to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Salam tasked the Lebanese Foreign Ministry with taking immediate action through the United Nations and called for the release of all Lebanese detainees held by Israel.
Atwi's kidnapping raises the total number of Lebanese held by Israel to 24, including 20 captured during the Hezbollah-Israel war and after the truce agreement.
Three people, including a child, were also killed Monday in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a van in the southern village of Yanouh, in the Tyre district, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The Israeli army confirmed the attack in Yanouh, saying it killed Ahmad Ali Salami, Hezbollah's artillery commander, who had recently been working "to rebuild the group's artillery capabilities." The army added that it was investigating the incident after reports of civilian casualties in Lebanon.
Since the 2024 cease-fire, Israel has operated with near-total freedom in Lebanon, continuing strikes on alleged Hezbollah sites and arms depots and killing suspected Hezbollah operatives.
It also refused to withdraw from five strategic positions in south Lebanon, release Lebanese prisoners and blocked displaced prisoners from returning to their largely destroyed villages.
The Iran-backed group, severely weakened during the war that erupted after it opened a support front for Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, has kept a low profile and refrained from retaliating while the Lebanese Army took control of the area south of the Litani River.
As it quietly attempts to reorganize its ranks and secure new channels for rearming and funding, Hezbollah has refused to fully disarm as long as Israel does not abide by the truce accord.