Lebanese president orders army to confront Israeli incursions after border raid

Israeli troops carried out an incursion into a southern Lebanese town overnight and killed a municipal employee who was sleeping in the local town hall, Lebanese state media said on Thursday.



Israeli military confirmed the incident, saying that its forces had opened fire overnight during an operation to destroy infrastructure of the militant group Hezbollah in the southern Lebanese town of Blida.



Lebanon's army has deployed to the area but its media did not have further details to share. The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon did not immediately have further details on the incident.



Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli troops had entered the town of Blida around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday and stormed the town hall, killing municipal employee Ibrahim Salameh, who had been sleeping there.



It said Israeli troops withdrew around 4:00 a.m. local time. It was not immediately clear whether Salameh had been deliberately targeted and if so, why he would be.



"During the procedures, an immediate threat against the troops was identified, and they fired to remove it," an Israeli military spokesperson said, adding that the incident was under review.