A Hezbollah fiber-optic first-person view (FPV) drone killed an Israeli Defense Ministry civilian contractor and wounded his son during engineering operations in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Amer Hujirat, 44, from the northern Arab city of Shefa-Amr, was operating an excavator in the Aitaroun area near Bint Jbeil when an explosives-laden drone struck his vehicle. His 19-year-old son, employed by the same firm, sustained shrapnel wounds and was taken to Ziv Medical Center in Safed, where hospital officials confirmed he is in stable condition.

The fatality in southern Lebanon after a Hezbollah drone struck his excavator was Amer Hujayrat, 44, an Israeli Defense Ministry contractor from the Arab city of Shefa-’Amr. pic.twitter.com/oqOTpLfUWR

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 28, 2026

Hezbollah said it targeted the excavator while the vehicle was demolishing homes near Bint Jbeil. “The IDF and Defense Ministry extend their condolences to the family,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, adding that Hujirat’s family was notified by the Israel Police.

🎯DISMANTLED: 1,000+ terrorist infrastructure sites used by Hezbollah terrorists to carry out attacks against IDF troops.

The troops located hundreds of weapons, including machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles, grenades, mines, pistols, anti-tank missiles, ammunition, RPG rockets and… pic.twitter.com/LgSxk1vVtr

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 28, 2026

#عاجل ‼️منصات إطلاق، مخازن وسائل قتالية ومبانٍ استُخدمت لتدعيم مخططات إرهابية: جيش الدفاع الإسرائيلي يهاجم بنى تحتية تابعة لمنظمة حزب الله الإرهابية في عدة مناطق جنوب لبنان

⭕️هاجم جيش الدفاع الإسرائيلي أمس (الثلاثاء) عدة بنى تحتية تابعة لمنظمة حزب الله الإرهابية في عدة مناطق… pic.twitter.com/2Wo8ElcSps

— Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya | إيلا واوية (@CaptainElla1) April 29, 2026

Hezbollah has conducted more than 27 FPV attacks against Israeli forces in Lebanon since February 2026, according to analysis by the Center for European Policy Analysis. These drones use a physical fiber-optic tether rather than radio signals, making them resistant to Israeli electronic jamming. The IDF initially assessed their effective range at roughly a mile. Battlefield operations have since revealed a range exceeding 6 miles, Maariv reported.

Tuesday’s strike came two days after Sgt. Idan Fox, 19, of Battalion 77, Saar Magolan Brigade, was killed by a Hezbollah drone on April 26. A separate Hezbollah drone severely wounded an IDF soldier on Monday. Since Hezbollah resumed fire on March 2, breaking the November 2024 ceasefire, 16 soldiers and Hujirat have been killed in Lebanon operations.

❗️ EXPOSED: Underground tunnel network built by Hezbollah in the Qantara area of southern Lebanon.

IDF troops located 2 underground Hezbollah tunnels, with a total length of ~2 kilometers, situated ~10 kilometers from Israel’s northern communities.

Inside the tunnels, soldiers… pic.twitter.com/Kq8NZlPzO7

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 28, 2026

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he had ordered a “special project” two weeks earlier to counter the drone threat. “It will take time,” he said, “but we will take care of that.” The IDF also said it destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel during Tuesday’s operations.