Lebanon's Aoun orders army to confront future Israeli incursions

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun ordered the army on Thursday to confront any future Israeli incursions after an overnight raid by Israeli forces into the southern village of Blida left a municipal employee dead, escalating tensions along a frontier that remains subject to a November 2024 ceasefire. Lebanese state media identified the slain man as Ibrahim Salameh and said Israeli troops entered the village around 1:30 a.m., stormed the municipality building where Salameh was sleeping and withdrew at dawn after an hourslong operation.

The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the raid, saying it was targeting what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure and that its troops fired at a suspect. The Israeli military said the incident is under review. Residents and local officials described scenes of bloodied mattresses and bullet holes at the municipality building. In the hours after the raid, Lebanon reported further Israeli airstrikes in the southwest and increased drone activity over Beirut.

The attack occurred amid sustained friction despite the ceasefire that followed more than a year of open conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has maintained forces at five...