This Wednesday (2), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the first casualties in its military operation against Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon, confirming the deaths of eight Israeli soldiers. The victims were part of different combat units and were hit in intense clashes with Hezbollah terrorists.
Among the soldiers killed were members of the elite unit called “Egoz”, a special force focused on operations in difficult terrain and direct clashes with armed extremist groups. Captain Harel Etinger, aged 23, commanded a team from this unit and lost his life in combat, as did Sergeant First Class Noam Barzilay, aged 22, Sergeant First Class Or Mantzur, aged 21, Sergeant First Class First Class Nazar Itkin, 21, and Captain Itai Ariel Giat, 23, who was part of the Yahalom Combat Engineering Unit. They were killed during a shootout with Hezbollah terrorists in a village in southern Lebanon. The battle also killed Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, as well as leaving another officer and four soldiers seriously injured.
In addition to the soldiers from the Egoz unit, two members of the Golani Brigade reconnaissance unit also lost their lives in a separate fight. Sergeant Second Class Almken Terefe, 21, and Sergeant Second Class Ido Broyer, 21, were killed, and a third soldier was seriously injured. A third incident, involving the same brigade, resulted in a combatant from the 51st Battle medical team also being seriously injured.
The fighting occurred amid Israel’s military incursion into southern Lebanon, which began last Monday (30). The objective of the actions, according to the IDF, is to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, located close to the border between the two countries. The operations are a response to the growing risk posed by Hezbollah in the region. This Wednesday, the Lebanese terrorist organization claimed success in repelling Israeli forces in the city of Oddaisseh, located close to the border. Hezbollah claimed to have inflicted significant casualties by repelling Israeli soldiers, an act that Israel has not commented on.