File image.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged on May 19 that one of its reserve officers was killed in combat with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The slain officer, named as Maj. Itamar Sapir, 27, served a deputy company commander in the 551st Brigade’s 7008th Battalion. The IDF didn’t provide any details on how exactly he was killed, but Araba media reported, citing Hebrew news outlets, that the officer was shot from close range by a fighter from Hezbollah.
Sapir is the eighth IDF soldier to be killed in southern Lebanon since the start of the ceasefire brokered by the United States. He is the 21st since hostilities between Israel and the group escalated amid the Iran war. A civilian contractor was also killed in the region.
Maj. Itamar Sapir. Click to see full-size image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
The IDF occupied dozens of towns in southern Lebanon after resuming ground operations there amid the war in Iran in a bid to establish a security zone. However, Israeli losses have been mounting there, with Hezbollah’s drone units launching daily attacks using fiber optic-guided first person view (FPV) suicide quadcopters.
Recent days saw a notable increase in drone attacks, with the group sharing videos of seven such strikes, including one that targeted a gathering of Israeli troops at Rosh HaNikra border site on May 14.
An additional video released recently by Hezbollah’s Military Media shows a series of drone attacks that targeted a temporary deployment position of the IDF in the town of Bayada on May 17, with one of the strikes taking down the Israeli flag raised outside.
Last week, Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend the ceasefire for an additional 45 days, but it is clear that the clashes between the IDF and Hezbollah are heating up.
There are signs that the U.S. and Israel could soon resume war on Iran, and with that the IDF could return to ground operations in southern Lebanon.
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