The Israeli army announced on Monday the arrest of a member of the Jamaa al-Islamiya group in Lebanon.
The military said a unit carried out a night operation in Jabal al-Rouss in southern Lebanon, arresting a “prominent” member of the group and taking him to Israel for investigation.
Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adree revealed that the operation took place based on intelligence gathered in recent weeks.
The military raided a building in the area where it discovered combat equipment, he added, while accusing the group of “encouraging terrorist attacks in Israel”.
He vowed that the Israeli army will “continue to work on removing any threat” against it.
Also on Monday, an Israeli drone struck a car in the southern Lebanese village of Yanouh, killing three people, including a child, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
Adree confirmed the strike, saying the army had targeted a Hezbollah member.
The Jamaa al-Islamiya slammed the Israeli operation, acknowledging on Monday the kidnapping of its official in the Hasbaya and Marjeyoun regions Atweh Atweh.
In a statement, the group said Israel abducted Atweh in an overnight operation where it “terrorized and beat up his family members.”
It held the Israeli army responsible for any harm that may happen to him, stressing that this was yet another daily violation committed by Israel against Lebanon.
“Was this act of piracy a response to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s tour of the South?” it asked, saying the operation was “aimed at terrorizing the people and encouraging them to leave their villages and land.”
The group called on the Lebanese state to pressure the sponsors of the ceasefire to work on releasing Atweh and all other Lebanese detainees held by Israel. It also called on it to protect the residents of the South.
Salam had toured the South over the weekend, pledging that the state will reimpose its authority in the South and kick off reconstruction efforts within weeks.
After the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, the Jamaa al-Islamiya's Fajr Forces joined forces with Hezbollah, launching rockets across the border into Israel that it said were in support of Hamas in Gaza.
Hezbollah started attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, triggering the latest Israel-Hamas war. Israel later launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.
The conflict ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024, and since then, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes and ground incursions into Lebanon. Israel says it is carrying out the operations to remove Hezbollah strongholds and threats against Israel.
The Israel-Hezbollah war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion in damage and destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
