The Israeli army carried out an invasion into a southern Lebanese town overnight and killed a man who was sleeping in the municipal building.
Israeli troops entered the border town of Blida and killed Ibrahim Salameh, a municipal employee. His death was confirmed by Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Lebanon's National News Agency described it as a “dangerous and unprecedented attack”. Residents reported hearing screams coming from the building. The soldiers entered Blida at around 1.30am local time and withdrew at 4am.
On Thursday morning, President Joseph Aoun instructed army chief Gen Rodolphe Haykal to confront any Israeli incursion into Lebanese territory that is not already occupied. Hezbollah welcomed the order in response to the "cold-blooded" killing and called for the country's armed forces to be supported.
The attack has led to an outpouring of anger, with locals in Blida burning tyres in protest and blocking a convoy of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) that was trying to pass.
Unifil described the attack and invasion as "a blatant violation" of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The municipality called for a sit-in protest outside its building to protest “the heinous crime” and “the absence and negligence of the Lebanese state in fulfilling its duty to protect its land and people”, according to messages circulated on WhatsApp
The messages also criticised Unifil and a US-led committee overseeing a ceasefire reached last year between Israel and Hezbollah, for failing to uphold their responsibilities.
"This is an act of organised terrorism aimed at paralysing services, disrupting administrations and creating a state of terror among employees," said union of Municipal Workers and Employees in south Lebanon.
Mr Aoun pointed out that the Israeli attack came a day after the meeting of the committee. The meeting in the southern town of Naqoura was attended by US envoy Morgan Ortagus.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned “the Israeli incursion into the town of Blida and the direct targeting of a municipal employee while performing his duties”, saying this “constitutes a blatant attack on Lebanese state institutions and sovereignty”.
“We continue to exert pressure with the UN and the states sponsoring the ceasefire agreement to ensure that these violations come to an end,” he added.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out near-daily strikes on Lebanon and maintains a presence at five points in the south, in violation of the agreement. Its operations in southern and eastern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, UN Rights Office spokesman Jeremy Laurence said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect on November 27. The Israeli military launched another attack in southern Lebanon on Thursday morning, later claiming it struck Hezbollah infrastructure "including a launcher and tunnel shaft" in the area of Mahmudiyah.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south. Only the Lebanese army and Unifil are supposed to operate in the south.
Under heavy pressure from the US, the Lebanese government has begun efforts to disarm Hezbollah, a plan strongly opposed by the militant group and its allies. Beirut has assigned the task to the army, which is expected to complete the disarmament in the area south of the Litani by the end of the year.
Hezbollah has repeatedly said it will not disarm while Israeli troops remain in Lebanon, warning that any disarmament would erode the country’s defences. The group was severely weakened during its last war with Israel.
