Israel releases 2 municipal workers from Kfar Shuba after detention

SOUTH LEBANON — Two residents of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district) were abducted Wednesday morning by the Israeli army, which later confirmed they were “transferred to Israeli territory for questioning.”

The head of the local municipality, Kassem Qadri, told our south Lebanon correspondent that a member of the municipal council, Mohammad Hassan al-Hage, and a municipal employee, Ahmad Salah Diab, were taken around 10 a.m. while operating a water pump outside the village.

Qadri said the two men had gone to the well at 9 a.m. as part of their daily routine to pump water to the village and fill the pump’s diesel tank. He added that an Israeli patrol allegedly descended from its position overlooking Kfar Shuba and detained them.

“When they were late in returning, we went to see what was going on and found that they were no longer there. We also noticed that the work had not been completed, which indicates that they were abducted before they could finish their task. We also found the pickup truck at the site, with the doors open and the keys inside,” he said.

Qadri added that Lebanese Army intelligence and UNIFIL were contacted, with the latter intervening through its Naqoura headquarters. The prime minister’s office was also informed, he said.

The Israeli army acknowledged taking the two men, saying they were “transferred to Israel” for questioning after soldiers identified “two suspicious individuals” near an area where Israeli forces are operating in southern Lebanon.

It later released the two municipal workers, the village’s mukhtar Ali Diab told our correspondent.

The army said the men were apprehended without specifying the allegations against them.

Such incidents are not unprecedented along the border, where residents and officials have previously been detained during periods of heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

Reporting contributed by our regional correspondent, Mountasser Abdallah.