Five Israeli reserve soldiers were killed and 19 others injured in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon on Thursday night, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The fatalities and injuries occurred when Hezbollah fighters fired a barrage of rockets at a building where the soldiers, all members of the 8th Armored Brigade’s 89th Battalion, were stationed. The IDF has identified one of the fallen soldiers as Sgt. First Class Gai Ben-Haroosh, a 23-year-old commander with the Oketz canine unit from Pardes Hanna-Karkur.
Israeli forces have ramped up their counterattacks, reporting on Friday that the air force had conducted over 200 airstrikes in Lebanon, including in Beirut’s Dahiya district, believed to be a Hezbollah stronghold. Overnight strikes killed a commander within Hezbollah’s Radwan unit, according to IDF statements, while ground forces continued operations to dismantle Hezbollah’s tunnel network. In one operation, reservists from the Carmeli Brigade located and destroyed two tunnels—one serving as an underground command center housing Hezbollah operatives, the other as a weapons depot for anti-tank missiles.
11 truckloads of weapons were found by our troops in 2 underground terrorist compounds in southern Lebanon.
Kornet missiles, launchers, hand grenades, various types of rifles, and other weapons were seized and brought back to Israel.
Like any other country would, we will… pic.twitter.com/Y8CXEjl3bX
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 25, 2024
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