Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
An armed Israeli researcher was killed along with a soldier during a clash with Hezbollah fighters on November 20 after entering southern Lebanon accompanied by a senior officer of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
According to an initial IDF probe, the chief of staff of the Golani Brigade, Colonel Yoav Yarom, allowed Israeli researcher Zeev Erlich, 71, to enter southern Lebanon to examine an archaeological site, the shrine of the Prophet Simon Peter near the town of Chamaa.
Two Hezbollah fighters who were hiding at the site opened fire at the researcher, senior officer, and other soldiers who were accompanying them.
Erlich and a soldier, who was identified as Sargent Gur Kehati, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, were killed in the clash. Meanwhile, Col. Yarom was moderately wounded. A company commander from the 13th Battalion also sustained serious wounds, the IDF said.
The researcher had entered southern Lebanon while armed and in IDF uniform, despite apparently not being an active duty soldier or in reserves.
In a separate incident from the same day, Sergeant First Class Eitan Ben Ami, 22, of the Maglan commando unit, was killed and another soldier from his unit was wounded in southern Lebanon.
The IDF said that commandos were walking through a damaged building when it suddenly collapsed. The building had been previously damaged by Israeli strikes on the area, and the military believes that it collapsed due to the harsh weather conditions.
It’s worth noting that Hezbollah announced 23 attacks on November 20, including rocket and drone strikes that targeted IDF gatherings along the border with Israel. The group also said that its fighters thwarted an advance attempt by Israeli troops near the town of Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon.
The clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli border first broke out after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, with Hezbollah launching attacks in support of the Palestinian enclave. Israel escalated its attacks on Lebanon starting from September 17 and on September 27 it assassinated the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nassrallah.
The IDF escalated further on September 30 by launching a limited ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
All in all, the confrontation has so far resulted in 44 civilian deaths in Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as well as the deaths of at least 74 soldiers and security officers. On the Lebanese side, more than 3,500 people have been killed, including more than 500 members of Hezbollah.
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a researcher… 🤔 were those zionists after some kind of artifact?
well they got lit up instead.
it should be _s_c_o_u_t_… the problem is that in southfront brainless orcs try to use english and don’t know the difference between an researcher and a scout.
“an armed israeli researcher”… – some nice peaceful researcher.
“the researcher had entered southern lebanon”… – did he have a passport with him?
the zionist way of archaeological research.
the nazis was after the ark of the covenant. they found it.