Two Israeli soldiers KIA in Southern Lebanon

Two Israel Defence Forces soldiers were slain while battling Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon, the military announced on Saturday night.

Capt. Shahar Gamla, 23, from Natur in the Golan Heights, “succumbed to his wounds after being severely injured during combat,” the IDF stated. A deputy squad commander in the Commando Brigade’s Egoz Unit, Gamla died on Saturday after being hit by a Hezbollah drone the day prior, Ynet reported.

Sgt. Ohad Yaari, 21, from the central city of Rehovot, a soldier in the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, “fell during operational activity,” according to the military. Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that he was killed as the result of a stray bullet.

The total death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the War of Redemption—which was triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre—now stands at 955, according to official IDF data.

Since a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect eight weeks ago, 17 IDF soldiers and an Israeli Defence Ministry civilian contractor have been killed in the war against Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara said they received the news of the two soldiers’ deaths “with heavy sorrow.”

“Shahar and Ohad, of blessed memory, were among our finest sons. They fought with supreme heroism to protect the communities of the north and the citizens of Israel, and their sacrifice and courage will be forever etched in our hearts,” the Netanyahus said in a statement.

Hezbollah renewed its rocket and drone attacks on Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.

In response, Israel launched a broad aerial campaign against Hezbollah targets and expanded military operations in Southern Lebanon aimed at preventing cross-border attacks on Israeli communities.

Hezbollah’s attacks targeting the Israeli home front continued on Sunday, with air-raid sirens warning of incoming rocket and drone fire from Lebanon, the IDF said.

Some 1,100 Israelis in the Upper Galilee border communities of Kibbutz Yiftah and Moshav Ramot Naftali were sent running for bomb shelters on Sunday morning after two “projectiles” were launched toward the Jewish state, according to the IDF. The rockets were intercepted, the military said.

The attack came just 30 minutes after roughly 2,000 civilians in the Galilee Panhandle towns of Metula and Kibbutz Misgav Am were rushed to shelters amid fears of a drone attack, the IDF stated.

The army subsequently announced that “a suspicious aerial target was identified in the area in which IDF soldiers are operating in Southern Lebanon.” It added, “The incident has concluded. No injuries were reported.”

Over the weekend, the IDF struck approximately 150 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites in Southern Lebanon, the military said in a separate statement.

The targeted sites included weapons storage facilities, command centres, rocket launchers and “additional Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure,” it stated.

“The infrastructure sites struck were used by Hezbollah terrorists to advance and execute terror attacks against IDF soldiers,” added the army.

Netanyahu on April 26 accused Hezbollah of “essentially disintegrating” the April 17 ceasefire with Lebanon, which was renewed on June 4 during the fourth round of the historic direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut in Washington.

“Therefore, as far as we are concerned, what obligates us is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, and the security of our communities,” the prime minister said. “We are acting vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and incidentally, with Lebanon as well.”