File image.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged on March 31 that four of its soldiers were killed and three others were wounded in a clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
All four slain soldiers were serving with the Nahal Brigade’s elite Reconnaissance Unit. According to an IDF probe of the incident, during operations in the southern Lebanese village of Beit Lif a day earlier the troops spotted a cell of Hezbollah fighters .
The troops exchanged fire with the fighters from close range, hitting several of them, the military found. During that exchange of fire, one soldier was killed and three were wounded.
Other troops rushed forward to provide support, before being ambushed by additional Hezbollah fighters, during which the other three soldiers were killed.
While the dead and wounded troops were being evacuated from the scene, Hezbollah fighters fired an anti-tank missile at the troops, which did not cause any further injuries, according to the probe, which noted that the IDF returned fire, with tank shelling and airstrikes.
L-R: Cpt. Noam Madmoni, Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, who were killed in Lebanon on March 30, 2026.
The clash marked the single deadliest incident for the IDF since it launched a new ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon amid the war with Iran. Ten troops has been killed since the start of the operation, in addition to two civilians claimed by Hezbollah rocket fire.
Four other Israeli troops were wounded in separate Hezbollah attacks in southern Lebanon on the same day, according to the IDF.
In one incident, a soldier was moderately wounded by shrapnel from a rocket that struck near Israeli forces, and in another, three reservists were lightly wounded after a drone impacted near them.
The IDF’s recent losses were not limited to casualties, however. Hezbollah on March 31 released a video showing a series of strikes with first-person view (FPV) suicide quadcopters that targeted two Namer armored personnel carriers and a Humvee armored vehicle of the IDF in the town of Biyada in southern Lebanon.
The FPV quadcopters used in the attack were guided by fiber-optic cables, as evident by the very clear video feed. Such drones are completely immune to jamming.
Despite all recent human and material losses, Israel seems determined to continue its ground operation in southern Lebanon. The ultimate goal is the Litani River, which lies 20 to 30 kilometers away from the Blue Line separating the two countries.
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin reaffirmed on March 31 that the ongoing operation is “pushing the enemy north, and distancing the threat from the communities.”
He said that the Israeli Air Force has struck over 2,500 targets in Lebanon since the start of the operation, and claimed some 900 Hezbollah fighters have been killed.
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israel is fighting a guerilla force in lebanon. a modern decent army would have been in beirut by now. what is going on? unbelievable the ineptitude of the israeli army. its a weekend army.
900 hezbollah killed what a joke . israel should declare thier real casualties
4 less kiddie killers! great! hezb. is back in the saddle. it’s open season on jooz! keep those casualties rolling in!