The Israeli army kidnapped two civilians from a southern Lebanese border village on Wednesday morning, local authorities said, as a drone strike hit a busy area of the major southern Lebanese city of Sidon.
Mohammad El Hage, a member of the Kfarchouba municipality and Ahmad Salah Diab were on the outskirts of the village operating a water pump when they were taken.
“They were going to bring diesel fuel and pump water to the village because the electricity supplying the pump has been cut for four months,” Qassem Al Qadri, Mayor of Kfarchouba, told The National.
“We waited for them to return, but they never came back,” he said.
He said locals had never encountered any incidents while operating the well, adding that it is located outside the “yellow line”, a zone encompassing at least 52 villages occupied by Israel.
“We provided photos, names and ID documents of the workers who need to visit the well and the waste treatment facility. We normally go there two or three times a day,” he said.
The Israeli army later confirmed they had been taken over to Israel to interrogate them; the reasons for the interrogation remain vague.
This is the only well providing water to the village, the mayor added. “We don't have any other choice, we have to go there”.
Israel has a history of kidnapping civilians who are either later released or used as bargaining chips in negotiations. Mr Al Qadri said that Israel has kidnapped six civilians from Kfarchouba since the war resumed in March.
Only a handful of southern Lebanese border villages, including Kfarchouba, a Sunni majority village, remained inhabited amid the Israeli occupation of that region and its war with Hezbollah.
Mr Al Qadri said that everyone who has remained in the village, about 575 families, now fears they could be kidnapped. He described constant Israeli raids on civilian homes, as well as the destruction of property.
Yet, most of Kfarchouba residents have decided to remain. “This is our land and our country. We will not leave. They can use force and intimidation, but they cannot break our attachment to our land, our homes and our village.”
He said trips to the well will not stop, despite the risks.
“Even if they occupy the area, we still have the right to drink, eat, receive medical care, get an education and enjoy our basic rights. We are civilians. We are unarmed. We pose no threat to anyone.”
Strikes continue
An Israeli drone strike struck a car in the heart of southern Lebanon's Sidon on Wednesday, shaking the region's largest city, which has become a relatively safe place for those fleeing north from the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Two bodies were dragged from the burning wreckage of the car in the middle of the day, on the busy Riad Al Solh street near the coast.
While Sidon has been attacked previously, the prevalence is far less than in areas further south. The strike is a sign of a war inching further north, with multiple areas of the wider Sidon district under Israeli forced displacement orders.
The UN human rights office will post a team of investigators to Lebanon next week to assess potential breaches of international law by all parties in a war that has killed more than 3,600 people and displaced well over a million in Lebanon since it re-erupted in March.
“It's the first time that we are sending this assessment mission, and the idea is indeed to look at violations by all parties – violations of international law, violations of international human rights law, and to document this, and eventually to report back to you on our findings,” it said.
The war between Hezbollah and Israel resumed on March 2 after Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel in support of Tehran, amid daily Israeli breaches of a previous ceasefire reached in 2024.
Since then, Lebanese authorities have moved urgently to contain the escalation, engaging in unprecedented talks with Israel in Washington in an effort to secure a lasting peace arrangement.
A fourth ceasefire was announced on June 3. But despite Lebanon's efforts, none of the ceasefires have held.
Israel has continued its military operations in Lebanon, launching daily strikes in the south and demolishing towns and villages it occupies as part of its “yellow line”. Hezbollah, meanwhile, says it is carrying out daily attacks against Israeli troops.
Lebanon's Health Ministry says at least 3,666 people have been killed and 11,321 wounded in Israeli attacks since March 2. The conflict has displaced about 1.2 million people and caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.
