Israeli operations against neighboring Lebanon have mostly centered on drone strikes against any vehicles still operational in the towns and villages of the south, but on Wednesday the incident was maritime in nature, with four Israeli gunboats crossing the buoy line into Lebanese territorial waters.
The gunboats moved against a Lebanese fishing boat and captured it off the coast of Ras al-Naqoura. Two fisherman were on board, Israel captured both but interrogated and released one, while taking the other with them and leaving.
Details are still scant about the incident, and more details may be available soon. So far, the Lebanese government has not commented on today’s incident, nor has the Israeli Navy. The people involved in today’s incident also have not been identified.
It’s not the first time that such an incident occurred. A very similar situation happened in early February in the same area of the maritime border, when Israeli troops confronted a fishing boat and detained its two passengers. One was released and the other, Muhammad Jahir, was taken back to Israel. Four months hence, there is still no report on if he was ever released or if he was ever charged with anything other than fishing.
This incident was just one of several thousand Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon, though it is likely considered a rather minor one by those not engaged in economic activities along the coast. No casualties were reported, no shots apparently fired, one person detained, still unnamed.
Until any revelation of exactly what happened and why, this remains just another story, one of countless stories effecting only a handful of people involved. Israel’s lack of any statement on the matter only adds to the sense of uncertainty around southern Lebanon that one could, at any time, become the chosen target of the IDF.
