Israeli troops kill municipal worker in south Lebanon raid

BBC:

Israeli troops carried out an incursion into a south Lebanese town overnight, killing a municipal employee, state media report, amid an escalation of Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

The troops, accompanied by drones and light armoured vehicles, entered Blida and stormed the town hall, where the employee – named as Ibrahim Salameh – was sleeping, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

The Israeli military said its troops were conducting an operation to “dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure”, without providing evidence that the building was being used by the group.

Israel’s operation drew a furious response in Lebanon, where a ceasefire ended a war between them last November.

Israel’s military says troops encountered a “suspect” inside the building and opened fire when an “immediate threat” was identified, it added. It was not clear whether Salameh had been the target of the operation.

Israel has stepped up its attacks on people and targets it says are linked to Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim group backed by Iran.

The Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, instructed the commander of the Lebanese army to confront any Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced the killing of Salameh and the incursion as a “flagrant violation of Lebanese institutions and sovereignty”.

He said Lebanon would continue pressing the United Nations and ceasefire guarantors “to ensure a halt to the repeated violations and the implementation of a complete Israeli withdrawal from our lands”.

Protests were held on Thursday morning in Blida and nearby towns, where residents blocked roads with burning tyres to denounce what they called a “blatant aggression” and the state’s failure to protect civilians.