Lebanese president orders army to counter Israeli incursion after deadly raid on border village

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday instructed the Lebanese army to confront any Israeli incursions into the country's southern territory, following a deadly raid on the border village of Blida.

According to a statement from the Lebanese Presidency, Aoun made the remarks during a meeting at the Baabda Palace with Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Rodolphe Haykal.

The president condemned the attack as part of a series of ongoing Israeli aggressions and noted it occurred shortly after a meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee.

He urged the committee to move beyond documenting violations and take concrete steps to pressure Israel into honoring the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement and halting its breaches of Lebanese sovereignty.

An Israeli force infiltrated the village of Blida at around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday (2330 GMT Tuesday), advancing more than one kilometer beyond the border.

According to Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA), the Israeli troops stormed the Blida municipal building, where municipal employee Ibrahim Salameh was staying overnight. He was shot and killed by the Israeli soldiers, the agency reported.

The Israeli military confirmed that its forces had operated in Blida overnight, saying they opened fire after identifying "an immediate threat" during an operation to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure. The incident was under review, it said.

Residents reported hearing screams and cries for help from the building during the operation, which continued until around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, before the Israeli force withdrew.

A ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, brokered by the United States and France, has been in effect since November 27, 2024, largely ending the clashes that erupted between the two sides amid the war in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the agreement, the Israeli army continues to carry out occasional strikes in Lebanon, claiming that they target Hezbollah "threats," while maintaining forces at five main positions along the Lebanese border.