Israeli forces have carried out another ground incursion deep inside southern Lebanon despite the head of the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) praising the Lebanese army’s role in enforcing an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.
In a statement posted on X on Monday, US Central Command chief Brad Cooper congratulated the Lebanese Armed Forces for discovering and dismantling a "massive underground Hezbollah tunnel", the second such underground facility found in the past two months.
Cooper said dismantling tunnels used by non-state actors to store ammunition, missiles and attack drones "promotes peace and stability in Lebanon and across the region".
He said that the work carried out by the Lebanese army and the US-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism was essential to maintaining a truce between Israel and Hezbollah that came into effect on 27 November 2024.
At the same time Cooper made the comments, Israeli military incursions and attacks continued on Lebanese territory, including the abduction of a local official.
Early on Monday, Israeli forces carried out a rare ground incursion far from the border, entering the town of al-Habbariyeh in the Hasbaya district and abducting Atwi Atwi, a senior official in al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and former mayor of the town.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli troops had reached the area on foot through olive groves before storming Atwi's home at around 4am and taking him to an unknown location.
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya condemned the raid as an Israeli "infiltration", while Hezbollah said it was a "serious aggression" and warned that Israel was entering a "new phase" of incursions, kidnappings and abductions that place civilians in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military confirmed the operation, claiming it had apprehended a "senior terrorist", but said the detainee was transferred into Israeli territory for questioning, without providing evidence to support its allegations.
The ground incursion was followed by further Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon later the same day.
An Israeli air strike on a vehicle in the town of Yanouh, in the Tyre district, killed three people, including a three-year-old child and a member of Lebanon's security forces who were passing by, according to Lebanese media.
The Israeli military said the strike had targeted Ahmad Ali Salami, whom it alleged was a senior Hezbollah figure. The incident was under review after reports of civilians being killed.
Later on Monday, Israeli gunfire killed another man in the border village of Aita al-Shaab, with the Israeli army again claiming he was affiliated with Hezbollah.
Lebanese authorities described the incident as a direct shooting, marking a shift from air strikes to ground-based fire.
Despite the November 2024 ceasefire, Israel has carried out near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon and continues to occupy five positions inside Lebanese territory.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw fully from Lebanon, while Hezbollah was to pull fighters north of the Litani River and dismantle military infrastructure in the south.
The United Nations says more than 100 civilians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the truce began.
Lebanese officials and the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, have said they have seen no evidence to support Israeli claims that Hezbollah was rebuilding its military capabilities.
Lebanese officials say continued Israeli attacks, ground incursions and abductions all undermine efforts to stabilise south Lebanon and complicate the implementation of the ceasefire.
At the same time, Beirut faces growing pressure from Washington to accelerate efforts to bring all weapons under state control and effectively disarm Hezbollah.