Military Police probing death of Hezbollah detainee held by IDF in southern Lebanon
Incident said to have occurred between Thursday and Friday; Ben Gvir calls investigation ‘shame and disgrace,’ says some in IDF can’t tell friends from enemies
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The Military Police has opened an investigation into the death of a Hezbollah detainee while he was in the custody of troops in southern Lebanon, the IDF said Saturday.
No further details were provided on the incident, which occurred between Thursday and Friday, according to Hebrew media.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the investigation, writing on X: “I’m sorry to say, there are elements in the IDF who still don’t know who’s an enemy and who’s a friend.”
Ben Gvir claimed it was an investigation into “the death of a Hezbollah terrorist who was captured by the IDF before he committed murder and massacred Jews,” and called the probe “a shame and a disgrace!”
“Our heroic soldiers, who risk their lives for the safety of the citizens of Israel, deserve all our backing and support,” the far-right minister said.
Israel’s military chief said Friday that at least 1,500 Hezbollah operatives are believed to have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the ground operation there last month, while adding that the numbers could be higher.
Troops have captured an unknown number of Hezbollah operatives alive during the course of the operation.
The investigation announced on Saturday appeared to be the first such probe for an incident on Lebanese territory following the launch of a ground operation against Hezbollah on October 1, though incidents have been investigated on other fronts since the outbreak of the war last year.
In late July, the Military Police raided a detention facility in southern Israel to arrest soldiers suspected of the serious sexual abuse of a Palestinian terror detainee, causing an outcry among far-right politicians.
Opponents of the investigation later gathered outside the detention facility to which the soldiers had been taken, as well as the detention facility where the arrests had taken place, and a number of lawmakers and activists broke into the bases amid angry protests.
Hezbollah began attacking northern Israel a day after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on the country’s south, saying it was doing so in support of the Gaza-based terror group.
But after suffering nearly a year of cross-border attacks, Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, decimating the terror group’s leadership and attacking its infrastructure.
The Times of Israel Community.