Lebanese president orders army to confront Israeli incursions after deadly raid
IDF says it was attacking Hezbollah infrastructure when it fired at a ‘suspect’ and the incident is under review
Israeli troops have killed a Lebanese municipal worker while carrying out a raid in the south of the country, prompting Lebanon’s president to order the army to confront future incursions.
Lebanese state media identified the slain man as Ibrahim Salameh, an employee of the Blida municipality, a village near the border with Israel. The Israeli military confirmed the raid and said it was attacking Hezbollah infrastructure when it fired at a “suspect”. It said the incident was under review.
Lebanon’s state media said Israeli forces “stormed the Blida municipality building, where employee Ibrahim Salameh was sleeping, and enemy soldiers proceeded to kill him”. In the room where Salameh had been sleeping, mattresses were soaked with blood and bullet holes dotted the walls, according to the Agence France-Presse.
The killing led to widespread anger in Lebanon over repeated violations of Lebanese sovereignty. In the hours after the raid, Israel carried out airstrikes in Labouneh, in south-west Lebanon, and Israeli drones could be heard flying low over Beirut.
The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, condemned the raid and ordered the Lebanese army to confront Israeli soldiers in any future incursions on Lebanese territory. In a statement, Aoun instructed the army to “confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defence of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens”.
The raid and the killing occurred despite a November 2024 ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which mandated the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the cessation of hostilities between both parties.
Israel carries out near daily airstrikes on south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley despite the agreement, which it says is directed at preventing the rebuilding of Hezbollah. It has kept Israeli soldiers at five locations within Lebanon. Hezbollah has said it complies with the terms of the ceasefire deal.
The hours-long raid came as tensions between Israel and Lebanon grew, with a flurry of diplomatic activity in Beirut and foreign envoys pushing the Lebanese government to fully disarm Hezbollah.
The Lebanese government has in the past said it must not rush the disarmament of Hezbollah, which it has said it is committed to, to avoid sparking a civil war.
On Wednesday the US envoy Morgan Ortagus said Washington hailed the “decision to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year”, during a visit to the border city of Naqoura where indirect negotiations with Israel were previously held.