At least six Israeli soldiers have been killed in a clash with Hezbollah forces on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, as Israeli troops pushed deeper into southern Lebanon. The clash came as troops moved into the second line of villages across from the border of Israel and Lebanon.
An initial IDF probe report indicates that the deadly incident took place after Israeli troops entered a building in southern Lebanon where four Hezbollah terrorists were likely staying, after which the soldiers were killed during an exchange of gunfire and another wounded before being whisked away to the hospital for medical care. However, four Hezbollah soldiers were also killed in the process of exchanging gunfire.
According to Daniel Hagari, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Spokesperson, the killed soldiers all served in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion.
“The killed soldiers are Cpt Itay Marcovich, 22, from Kohav Ya’ir; Staff Sgt Sraya Elboim, 21, from Mehola; Staff Sgt Dror Hen, 20, from Gan Haim; Staff Sgt Nir Gofer, 20, from Dimona; Sgt Shalev Itzhak Sagron, 21, from Sderot; and Sgt Yoav Daniel, 19, from Nahariya,” Hagari said.
He added that the clash was the heaviest single-day loss in the operation by Israeli forces that began in late September 2024 against Hezbollah.
In addition to the continued ground operation and clash that resulted in losses, Israeli fighter jets continued to strike Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The military said that the targets included weapons depots and a command center.
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Prior to the airstrikes, Col Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, issued new evacuation orders for Lebanese civilians in the vicinity of two buildings in which the clashes occurred, urging civilians to distance themselves at least 500 meters from the sites.
Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah away from the border and restore security to its communities near the boundary after over a year of deadly rocket and drone fire exchange from the Hezbollah fighting group that forced the evacuation of about 60,000 people in the north of the country.
