A Hezbollah explosive drone killed an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) combat engineer in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the military confirmed Monday. Sgt. Nehoray Leizer, 19, of Eilat, serving in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion of the 401st Brigade, was struck while driving an armored personnel carrier (APC) near the village of Debel. A second soldier was seriously wounded in the same attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to “press the pedal even harder” against Hezbollah on Monday, after a senior US official signaled that Washington could greenlight a larger operation.
An official stated that Hezbollah disregarded ultimatums to cease fire, launching over 1,000 drones and 700 rockets at Israel since April 17. Asserting that Israel will not passively absorb attacks, the official differentiated their actions from those of the Biden administration.
The IDF struck Tyre later that day following evacuation warnings from Arabic-language Spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee.
The problem is technical. Hezbollah’s first-person view (FPV) drones operate via fiber-optic cables rather than radio signals, making them effectively immune to electronic warfare jamming.
Hezbollah released footage dated 19-05-2026 showing an Ababil fiber-optic FPV drone targeting an IDF pickup truck in the settlement of Misgav Am in northern Israel. pic.twitter.com/N24XhDcXSn
— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) May 25, 2026
BBC Verify geolocated 35 Hezbollah drone strike videos from March 26 to mid-May, with defense experts confirming the IDF has yet to develop effective countermeasures.
A senior Israeli official involved in security cabinet discussions told Channel 12 that Israel is currently “defenseless in the face of this deadly reality,” with soldiers personally soliciting fishing nets from Sea of Galilee fishermen as drone barriers, KAN reported.
The IDF has also thinned ground forces in southern Lebanon and restricted contractor demolition to nighttime hours.
Leizer was the 10th IDF soldier killed in Lebanon since the US-brokered ceasefire began and the 23rd since Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2, a toll that rises to 27 total Israeli fatalities, including civilian contractors and residents killed by cross-border fire.
