Lebanon Orders Army To Repel Israeli Incursions as Raid in Blida Sparks Diplomatic Scramble
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday directed the army commander to confront any Israeli incursions in the south after Israeli troops crossed the border into the town of Blida overnight during an operation against Hezbollah infrastructure. The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers opened fire after identifying “an immediate threat” inside a municipal building and later withdrew; Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a municipal employee was killed. Beirut’s decision came hours after a ceasefire-monitoring meeting in Naqoura, where the United States pressed for all weapons to be brought under state control by year’s end.
Aoun condemned the raid as part of a pattern of Israeli aggression and urged the monitoring committee to do more than log violations, calling on Israel to observe the Nov. 27, 2024 truce and “halt its breaches of Lebanese sovereignty.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the operation “a blatant attack on the institutions and sovereignty of the Lebanese state.” The Lebanese Army deployed to the area, while the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said it was seeking further information.
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Israel confirmed it had operated in Blida, some 5 miles southwest of Kiryat Shmona, to “dismantle Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure,” saying troops “identified a suspect inside the structure” and fired to remove an “immediate threat,” adding the incident is under review. The military also reported strikes against “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” elsewhere in southern Lebanon, including a launcher and a tunnel shaft.
Nearly a year after a ceasefire ended two months of open war along the border, clashes and airstrikes have persisted as Israel seeks to prevent Hezbollah from reconstituting positions in the south, and Lebanon accuses Israel of violating the truce. The UN human rights office says 111 civilians have been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect. In Naqoura, US envoy Morgan Ortagus said Washington welcomed the “decision to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year,” adding the Lebanese Army “must now fully implement its plan.”
