Two Israeli soldiers were killed during the country’s latest military offensive in Lebanon, which has so far claimed nearly 400 lives.
The soldiers’ deaths mark Israel’s first military casualties since the war escalated Hezbollah inside Lebanon last week
According to Israeli media, the two were said to have been killed when a rocket fired by militants hit their regiment while they were using bulldozers.
The Israel Defense forces did not immediately provide further details about the circumstances of his death.
Rescue workers search for victims in Ghazieh, southern Lebanon. Image: AP
One of the soldiers was identified as 38-year-old Maher Qatar, from a village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that is largely made up of ethnic Druze.
The IDF has not released the name of the second soldier because his family is still being notified.
Since then, violence has intensified along the Israel-Lebanon border The US launched a military campaign against Iran A week ago.
Israel Airstrikes and ground offensives are underway in southern Lebanon, with a bombardment of the town of Sir El Gharbieh on Sunday morning, according to local officials.
The village’s mayor, Sadallah Matauk, said 14 residents were killed and six wounded in Israeli military attacks in a single day.
He said: “14 people were killed and six wounded. We are used to it; this is Israel, and whatever happens will not affect us.”
Israeli tanks on the Israeli border. Image: Reuters
Another resident of the town, battered by airstrikes that destroyed buildings and left a pile of rubble, said the dead were all women and children.
Lebanon’s health minister said Sunday that 83 of the 394 people killed so far since the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group began just over a week ago.
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Israel’s military is conducting a military operation in the southern Lebanese town of Nabi Chat to find the remains of Israeli navigator Ron Arad, who disappeared in the area in 1986.
Israeli forces entered the town and dug up a grave in the cemetery as part of the search for the missing Mr. Arad, a resident told The Associated Press.
At least 41 people were killed and 40 wounded in the operation, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Saturday.
Ron Arad. Image: Reuters
Destruction remains after the Israeli attack on Nabi Chit. Image: Reuters
Hezbollah and local fighters clashed with Israeli forces, with the country’s air force conducting 40 airstrikes in the area and allowing personnel on the ground to withdraw.
The Israeli military said on Sunday it had struck more than 600 targets in Lebanon and 3,400 in Iran since the escalation of violence in the Middle East began.
