Hezbollah slams Israel's abduction of Jamaa Islamiya official in south Lebanon raid

Hezbollah has condemned the “dangerous and criminal aggression” by Israeli forces to abduct a senior official of a Lebanese party and taking him to an unknown location.

In a statement issued late on Monday, the Lebanese resistance movement denounced the abduction of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya official Atwi Atwi from his home in the town of al-Habbariyah during a raid in southern Lebanon. 

The resistance group censured the kidnapping as a grave Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon, affirming that the Israeli regime is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty through incursions, abductions, and deadly attacks against civilians.

The group said the raid on Habbariyah involved assaults on Atwi and members of his family, as well as the intimidation of civilians.

These crimes, the statement read, “reaffirm the criminal and savage nature of the Israeli enemy, whose behavior is founded on killing, terrorism, piracy, and utter contempt for Lebanese sovereignty.”

Hezbollah pointed out that the latest developments signal the onset of “a new phase of Israeli aggression and lawlessness, characterized by incursions, abductions, and detentions, exposing all residents of southern Lebanon to direct and continuous danger.”

The group then called on the Lebanese government to shoulder its full national responsibilities, particularly following the recent visit of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to the south, where he witnessed firsthand the suffering of the local population and the ongoing Israeli presence on Lebanese soil.

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The statement urged the government to end what it described as silence and inaction, and to adopt firm positions as well as deterrent measures.

“The Lebanese government is required to take decisive measures, to act immediately at the political, diplomatic, and legal levels, to seriously work to protect its citizens, and not to content itself with statements that fail to deter the enemy from persisting with its aggression and lawlessness,” Hezbollah said.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli troops entered Habbariyah at about 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) on Monday before abducting Atwi, who is a former mayor of the town.

Jamaa al-Islamiya has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel in response to the recent military onslaught on Lebanon.

Israeli violations of the November 2024 ceasefire have killed and wounded hundreds of Lebanese citizens. Israel continues to occupy five Lebanese hilltops seized during the latest war, in addition to other Lebanese areas it has held for decades.

In October 2023, Israel initiated military strikes against Lebanon, which escalated into a full-scale war by September 2024, resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 individuals and the injuries of around 17,000 more.

Lebanese officials have repeatedly called for pressure on Tel Aviv to halt its attacks and abide by the ceasefire terms. They are also calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the areas occupied during the last war.​​​​​​

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